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S^^^IS^Si^MSS^I'Ml^i^MIIMMH^fil^ 



— /S^t>»- 



THE 



HOLY BIBLE: 

CONTAINING THE 

OLD TESTAMENT 

AND THE N E W. 



Tranflated into the 

INDIAN LANGUAGE- 

AND 

Ordered to be Printed by ths Commiffionerf of the Vnited Colama 

-n I^EW'ENGLANB, 

At thr Charge, and with tbcConfcotof the 

CORPORATION IN ENGLAND 

For the Trop/tgatton of the Cjofpd amcngH tlx Indians 
in New-En Jjnd. 



€ A M B R I DG M: 

Printed by Samuel green and ^JHarmaekkf Mi>foi% 

MDCLXIir. 



Fac-simile of the English title page of the Eliot Bible of 1663. Reduced size. 



<Bar% (§iMtB 



of ^mmca 



BY- 



REV. JOHN WRIGHT, D.D. 

Rector of St. Paul's Churcli, St. PjiiI. Miiui. 



OCT 1 1892 

THOMAS WHITTAKER, 2 and 3 BIBLE HOUSE 
1892 



Copyright, 1892, by 
THOMAS WHITTAKER 



Z7-77/ 



t-^t Conxion (precfi 

171, 173 Macdougal Street, New York 



PREFACE. 



The title " Early Bibles of America " must 
be understood in a restricted sense. I have 
written of Bibles that were printed during 
the existence of the British- American colonies, 
and of others that appeared after the colonies 
became the United States. I have not carried 
the subject into Canada, or other parts of North 
America. As the versions or editions were, in 
most cases, associated with certain translators 
or publishers, the accounts are not only biblio- 
graphic, but to some extent biographic. 

J. W. 

St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 1, 1892. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

The Eliot Bible 1 

The Sauk Bible 28 

The AiTKEN Bible 55 

The Fibst Douay Yeesios 69 

The Thomas Bible 74 

The Collins Bible 86 

The Fibst Tkanslation fkom the Septuagint . 91 

The Fibst Tbanslation feom the Peshito 

Sybiac Vebsion . 97 

CuBious Veesions 103 

Eably Editions of the Gbeek Testament . 112 

Vaeious Editions 119 

APPENDIX A. 

Dedication in the Eliot New Testament 

OF 1661 143 

APPENDIX B. 

Dedication in the Eliot Bible op 1663 . 149 

APPENDIX C. 

Dedication to Hon. Kobeet Boyle in Eliot 

Bible of 1685 156 



VI CONTENTS. 

APPENDIX D. 

FAOB 

List of Owners of Eliot New Testaments 
AND Bibles as fab as known . . . 158 

APPENDIX E. 

Some of the Prices paid for Eliot New 
Testaments and Bibles .... 162 

APPENDIX F. 

List of Owners of the Saue Bibles as far 
AS KNOWN 163 

APPENDIX G. 

List of Owners of the Aitken Bible as 
fab as known 165 

INDEX 167 



EARLY BIBLES. 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 

The history of the first Bible printed in 
America is the history of the devotion and per- 
sistence chiefly of one man. John Eliot was 
drawn to New England by the desire to relieve 
the minds of the Indian races from their spirit- 
ual darkness. He came when his mental fac- 
ulties were keen and active, and lived to see 
the happy consummation of his hopes and plans, 
even to an honored old age. Eliot arrived in 
New England in the autumn of the year 1631. 
After a short time devoted to teaching, he be- 
came the pastor of the Roxbury Church. From 
the first his interest in the Indians had mani- 
fested itself, and he early took steps toward 
1 



2 EARLY BIBLES. 

giving them the Word of God. He was well 
fitted for the work, both by heart and intellect. 
His scholastic advantages had been ample, for 
he had received his education at Jesus College, 
Cambridge, from which institution he was grad- 
uated in 1623. He was well acquainted with 
the original languages of the Bible, and set 
about his work with confidence and enthusiasm. 
His first efforts at learning the language of the 
Indian tribes of Massachusetts were made 
through the assistance of an Indian who had 
been taken a prisoner in the Pequot Wars, who 
was employed in the neighborhood as a house 
servant. " He was," says Eliot, " the first that 
I made use of to teach me words, and to be my 
interpreter." Eliot made such progress in his 
knowledge of the language that in 1646 he was 
able to preach to the Indians in their native 
tongue. But, before he could place into the 
hands of these converts books of instruction, 
financial help was requisite. 

In 1643 the colonies of Massachusetts, Plym- 
outh, Connecticut, and New Haven entered 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 3 

into articles of confederation to aid the Indians, 
and each colony was represented by two com- 
missioners. This move received the approval 
of the mother-country, for in July, 1649, the 
Corporation for the Promoting and Propagating 
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in New England 
was formed by act of Parliament ; and commis- 
sioners of the united colonies were appointed 
to receive and distribute the necessary funds 
for the education of the Indians. In 1653 
Eliot wrote : " I have had a great longing de- 
sire, if it were the will of God, that our Indian 
language might be sanctified by the translation 
of the Holy Scriptures into it." The Lord's 
Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and a few 
passages of the Bible, were first attempted. A 
primer, or catechism, appeared about 1654. 
The Book of Genesis and the Gospel of St. Mat- 
thew were in print in 1655, and a few Psalms 
in metre were added in 1658. The printing 
of these early productions was executed by 
Samuel Green at Cambridge. The first press 
used in this place was set up in 1639, and was 



4 EARLY BIBLES. 

the property of the president of Harvard Col- 
lege, the Rev. Henry Dunster. It was worked 
by Stephen Daye until 1649, when the manage- 
ment of it was turned over to Samuel Green. 
A new press and new type were received in 
1659, and in 1660 Green was joined by Marma- 
duke Johnson, who had been sent from Eng- 
land to aid him in his work. With these 
increased facilities Mr. Eliot became more and 
more anxious that the Indian tribes might have 
the Bible in their own tongue. He said: "I 
look at it as a sacred and holy work, to be re- 
garded with much fear, care, and reverence." 
Under the stimulus of such exalted motives as 
these the translation went on day by day, until 
under date of Dec. 28, 1658, Mr. Eliot with 
evident joy writes : " Bless the Lord, that the 
whole book of God is translated into their own 
language ; it wanteth but revising, transcribing, 
and printing. Oh that the Lord would so 
move that by some means or other it might be 
printed ! " His appeal was not in vain, for the 
funds were provided by the Corporation in 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 5 

Eno-land. The New Testament in the Indian 
language appeared in 1661. The edition was 
about fifteen hundred copies. There are two 
title-pages, the first in English and the second 
in Indian. The English title-page reads — 

THE NEW 

TESTAMENT 

of our 
LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. 

Translated into the 

INDIAN LANGUAGE, 

and 
Ordered to be printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies 

IN NEW ENGLAND, ^ 

AT THE CHAEGE, AND "WITH THE CONSEKT OF THE 

CORPORATION IN ENGLAND 

For the propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians 
IN NEW ENGLAND. 

CAMBRIDG : 

PRINTED BY SAMUEL GREEN AND MAEMADXJKE JOHNSON. 

MDCLXL 



6 EARLY BIBLES. 

The Indian title-page reads as follows ; — 

WUSKU 
WUTTESTAMENTUM 

NUL-LOEDUMUN 

JESUS CHRIST 

NUPPOQUOHWUSSUAENEUMUN. 

CAMBRIDGE : 

PRINTED BY SAMUEL GKEEN AND MAKMADUKE JOHNSON. 
MDCLXI. 

The translation of the Indian reads — 

NEW 

HIS-TESTAMENT 

OUR-LOKD 

JESUS CHRIST 
OUR-DELIVERER. 

The book in size is a small quarto of 130 
printed leaves without pagination. By exact 
measurement the leaves are 7f inches by 5f 
inches, while the printed pages are 6§ inches by 
4| inches. The text is in double columns with 
marginal references. The Indian language 
from St. Matthew to Revelation covers 126 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 7 

pages. Between the two title-pages there is a 
dedication in English to Charles the Second.^ 
This is found only in a limited number of 
copies intended for presentation. There is a 
diamond-shaped figure of thirty-two printers' 
flowers on the Indian title-page, and this famil- 
iar ornamentation is common to nearly all the 
Eliot Testaments. Forty copies of the New 
Testament with the English title-page and 
kingly dedication were sent to Hon. Robert 
Boyle, the governor of the Corporation in 
England. The first twenty were sent in 1661, 
and the remaining twenty in 1662. The first 
copy was presented to Charles the Second. 
The second was given to Lord High Chancellor 
Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon ; the third, to 
Rev. Edward Reynolds, D.D., the Bishop of 
Norwich ; the fourth, to the Rev. Joseph Caryl ; 
the fifth, to the Rev. Richard Baxter ; and the 
sixth and seventh, to the Vice Chancellors of 
the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. 
The thirteen copies that remained, and the 
second lot of twenty, were left to the disposal 

1 Appendix A. 



8 EARLY BIBLES. 

of Mr. William Ashurst and Mr. Richard 
Hutchinson, officers of the English Corporation. 

Copies of the New Testament of 1661, solely 
in Indian and without the English title-page, 
were bound up, but the exact number is not 
known. The Eliot New Testament of 1661 is 
now an exceedingly rare book, as only nine- 
teen copies have been located. Two copies are 
in the British Museum, and two in the Lenox 
Library, New York. Trinity College (Dublin), 
Glasgow University, Edinburgh University, 
Bodleian Library (Oxford), the British and 
Foreign Bible Society (London), Town Library, 
Leicester, Eng., Harvard University, and the 
Boston Athenaeum, each possesses a copy. The 
remaining seven are in private libraries. 

The hopeful work accomplished among the 
Indians encouraged Mr. Eliot in placing the 
whole Bible in their hands. The printing of 
the Old Testament began in September, 1660, 
and by the same month in the following year 
the five books of Moses were completed. The 
commissioners in September, 1662, wrote to Mr. 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 9 

Boyle fiom Boston, saying, " The Bible is now 
about half done ; and constant progress therein 
is made ; the other half is like to be finished in 
a year." 

In 1663 the completed Bible appeared. It 
contains four title-pages. The first is in Eng- 
lish and reads thus : — 

THE 

HOLY BIBLE: 

CONTAINING THE 

OLD TESTAMENT 

AND THE NEW. 
Translated into the 

INDIAN LANGUAGE, 

and 

Ordered to be printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies 

in NEW-ENGLAND, 

At the Charge, and with the Consent of the 

CORPORATION IN ENGLAND 

For the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians 

in New-England. 

CAMBBIBGE : 

Printed by Samuel Green and MarmaduJce Johnson. 

MDCLXIII. 



10 EARLY BIBLES. 

The second title, which is in Indian, is as fol- 
lows : — 

MAMUSSE 
WUNNEETUPANATAMWE 

UP-BIBLUM GOD 

NANEESWE 

NUKKONE TESTAMENT 

KAH WONK 

WUSKU TESTAMENT. 

Ne quoshkinnumuk nashpe Wuttinneumoh CHRIST 
noh asoowesit 

JOHN ELIOT. 

CAMBRIDGE: 

Printeuoop nashpe Samuel Green kah Marmaduke Johnson. 

1663. 

Literally translated, these words read — ■ 

THE WHOLE 

HOLY HIS BIBLE GOD 

both 
OLD TESTAMENT 

and also 
NEW TESTAMENT. 

THIS TUKNED BY THE SERVANT OF CHBI8T 
WHO IS CALLED 

JOHN ELIOT. 



«fe€ " ~— , S«»t 



M A M V S S E U' 

WUNNEETUPANATAMWE ;|S} 



«}€ 
«>€ 
«>^ 

•as 

•^ 

*»« 
^»^ 

sInukkone testaments 



UP-BIBLUM GOD |s 

NANEESWE i ?^: 

«»« 
«^ 



KAH WONK 112 

WUSKU TESTAMENT, fe 

. — , — - — - &o» 

Ne c^uofhkinnumuic nafhpe 'Wuttinncumob ^H RI$7 i U 
DOb afooweiit j:fC» 

• ^«» 

JOHN ELIOT- l|s 

— ^ : — IIS. 

I^ PrwteuQop nafhpe S*iOT«f/ Cr«« kah Ai-rw«M* F*^"/*** ! |S! 



X ^ tf 3« jS^ 



Fac-simile of the Indian title page of the Eliot Bible of 16G3. Reduced size. 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 11 

The third and fourth title-pages are contained 
in the New Testament; and, as they are the 
same as in the edition of 1661, the description 
need not be repeated. At the end of the Old 
Testament are the words " Wohkukquohsinwog 
Quoshodtumwaenuog ; " that is, " The Prophets 
are ended." The New Testament is followed 
by a metrical version of the Psalms. There is 
no title-page to the Psalms, but this head- 
ing : " Wame Ketoohomae Uketoohomaongash 
David ; " meaning, " All the Singing Songs of 
David." At the close, on one leaf, are rules 
for Christian living, consisting of two ques- 
tions, — " How can I walk all day long with 
God ? " and " What should a Christian do to 
keep perfectly holy the Sabbath Day ? " ; — with 
the answers. 

The book is a quarto in size and printed 
upon excellent paper. The pages measure 6| 
inches by 4f inches. Genesis and the other 
books to the end of the Old Testament cover 
414 leaves ; and St. Matthew to the end of the 
New Testament, 126 leaves. The Psalms in 



12 EARLY BIBLES. 

metre fill 50 leaves, and the total number of 
printed pages in the Bible is 600. There is a 
dedication 1 to Charles the Second covering two 
pages. This differs in wording from the first 
that appeared in the edition of 1661, as it is a 
dedication of the whole Bible to His Majesty. 
As in the case of the New Testament, presenta- 
tion copies of the Bible of 1663 were sent to the 
English Corporation, to be disposed of as that 
body should elect. The number thus sent was 
twenty, in an unbound condition. In England 
they were substantially bound in dark-blue 
morocco. What disposition was made of these 
twenty volumes, and who became their recipi- 
ents, is not known, except that one copy was 
presented Charles the Second. 

A portion of the edition of 1663 was bound 
up for the use of the Indians, and contained no 
English title-pages and dedication, for it was 
wholly in the Indian tongue. The copies pre- 
viously spoken of as having the English title- 
pages and dedication are marked by certain 
variations. Mr. Wilberforce Eames, in his 

1 Appendix B. 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 13 

"Bibliographic Notes on Eliot's Indian Bible 
and his other Translations and Works in the 
Indian Language of Massachusetts," printed at 
"Washington by the Government in 1890, makes 
a classification of seven varieties. He says : ^ 
" These differ in the number of certain prelimi- 
nary leaves : namely, the dedication of the 
whole Bible, the Indian general title, the leaf 
of contents, the English New Testament title, 
and the dedication of the New Testament, one 
or more of which are generally omitted; also 
in the Indian New Testament title, which 
sometimes does not contain the diamond-shaped 
figure." Those persons who desire to study 
these differences critically are referred to Mr. 
Eames's valuable work. 

Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan, in his " List of Bibles 
printed in America," points out sixty errors in 
the printing of the Eliot Bible of 1663, and 
most of these were caused by the omission of 
certain words and sentences from the trans- 
lation. A ludicrous mistake was made in the 
rendering of the twenty-third verse of the 

1 Bibliographic Notes, p. 16. 



14 EARLY BIBLES. 

second chapter of the 2 Kings, — " Go up, thou 
bald head," — to which Dr. Trumbull has called 
attention. He says : ^ "In the Indian, the last 
word literally is ' ball-head ' (' pompasuhkonkan- 
ontup ' ). Either the interpreter mistook the 
word as pronounced by Eliot, or he thought it 
well to aggravate the insult by likening Elisha's 
smooth head to a foot-ball ; for 'pompasuhkonk' 
denotes a ball to play with." 

Considering the difficulties that had to be 
encountered in printing the first Bible in Amer- 
ica, it is a matter of surprise that the errors 
were not more numerous. Presses, type, ink, 
and paper had to be imported, coming long 
distances, and by slow means of conveyance. 
Workmen were few, and the sources of instruc- 
tion limited. The Algonkin was a harsh lan- 
guage, and it had no equivalents for certain 
English words. Salt was unknown to the 
Indians, and hence the word had to be inserted 
without translation. The same was true of 
" Amen " and some other terms. The words 
of the language were so extremely long that 

1 Memorial History of Boston, p. 473. 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 15 

Cotton Mather thought they must have been 
stretching themselves out from the time of the 
confusion of tongues at Babel. Rev. Dr. Ellis 
playfully says : ^ "To us it seems as if an Indian 
root-word started little and compact, like one of 
their own pappooses, and then grew at either 
extremity, thickened in the middle, extended in 
shape and proportion in each limb, member, and 
feature, and was completed with a feathered 
head-knot." Some impression of the appearance 
of the language may be had by the following 
version of the Lord's Prayer : — 

Nooshun kesukqut, quttianatamunach koowesuonk. Pe- 
yaumooutch kukketassootamoonk, kuttenantamoonk ne n 
nach ohkeit neane kesukqut. Nummeetsuongash asekesu- 
kokish assamainnean yeuyeu kesukok. Kah ahquoantam- 
aiinnean nuinmatcheseongash, neane matchenehukqweagig 
nutahquontamounnonog. Ahque sagkompagunaiinnean en 
qutchhuaouganit, webe pohquohwussinnean wutch matchi- 
tut. Newutche kutahtaunn ketassootamoonk, kah menuh- 
kesuonk, kah sohsumoonk micheme. Amen. 

The completion of the Bible of 1663 brought 
great joy to the heart of Mr. Eliot, not only 
because it was a great event in the art of print- 
1 Memorial History of Boston, vol. i. p. 270. 



16 EARLY BIBLES. 

ing, but chiefly for the reason that it facilitated 
his work among the Indians. Cotton Mather 
could hardly contain himself in his enthusiasm 
of thanksgiving. In his "Magnalia" he thus 
writes: "Behold, ye Americans, the greatest 
honor that ever you were partakers of. The 
Bible was printed here at our Cambridge, and 
is the only Bible that ever was printed in all 
America, from the very foundation of the 
world. The whole translation he writ with 
but one pen ; which pen, if it had not been lost, 
would have certainly deserved a richer case 
than was bestowed upon that pen with which 
Holland writ his translation of Plutarch." 
Francis, in his " Life of John Eliot," doubts the 
statement about the translation being written 
with but one pen, and says Mather's "story 
seems more precise than credible." ^ 

In 1680 a second edition of the New Testa- 
ment appeared. The upper part of the title- 
page is in Indian, while the lower contains the 
words, " Cambridge, Printed for the Right Hon- 

1 Francis. Life of Eliot, p. 227. 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 17 

ourable Corporation in London for the propaga- 
tion of the Gospel among the Indians in New 
England. 1680." No mention is made of the 
printer or printers. 

Mr. Eliot was desirous of seeing a new im- 
pression of the whole Bible, as many copies of 
the edition of 1663 had been lost or destroyed 
during the score of years since it was printed. 
The Indian war of 1675-76 had contributed also 
to this result. Mr. Eliot began the new version 
in 1677, and desired the work to be accelerated, 
for he said, " My age makes me importunate." 
That great spiritual good had been accomplished 
is evident, for in the earliest years of his work 
Eliot wrote of the Indians : " It hath pleased 
God to stir up the hearts of many of them this 
winter to learn to read and write, wherein they 
do much profit with a very little help, especially 
some of them, for they are very ingenious." In 
1680 Mr. Eliot wrote : " I shall depart joyfully, 
may I but have the Bible among them, for it is 
the word of life." This desire for a fresh sup- 
ply of Bibles was not alone Eliot's wish, for he 



18 EARLY BIBLES. 

says under date of November 4, 1680 : " Our 
praying Indians both in the islands and on the 
main, are considered together, numerous ; thou- 
sands of souls, of whom some true believers, some 
learners, and some still infants, and all of them, 
beg, cry, entreat for Bibles, having already en- 
joyed that blessing, but now are in great want." 
The press-work on the Old Testament began in 
1682, but the progress was slow, for Mr. Eliot 
writes : " We have but few hands, one English- 
man, a boy, and one Indian." 

The Indian referred to was a man known as 
James Printer, who had worked on the first 
edition. He seems to have been well fitted for 
his task, for Eliot in 1682 writes of him: 
" We have but one man, the Indian printer, that 
is able to compose the sheets and correct the 
press with understanding." Mr. Eliot also re- 
cords his indebtedness to Rev. John Cotton of 
Plymouth, " who helped me much in the second 
edition of the Bible." 

In the autumn of 1685 the second and last 
version of the Indian Bible appeared. Extant 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 19 

copies show that this is in leading particulars 
a reproduction of the first edition. This is im- 
plied on the title-page, where the Indian sen- 
tence occurs, " Nahoht8eu ontchetQe Printeuoo- 
muk ; " which, translated, means " Second-time 
amended impression." The name only of Samuel 
Green appears as printer. Like the previous 
Bible, the contents consist of the Old and New 
Testaments, the Psalms in metre, and the 
rules for Christian living. It is similar to it 
also in being printed in double columns with 
headings and side references. The whole 
book is printed on 608 leaves without pagi- 
nation; that is, a few more leaves than the 
Bible of 1663, which is accounted for by the 
addition of summaries at the head of the chap- 
ters. It contains no English title-pages, as 
they are solely in Indian. A few of the copies 
had a ^ dedication in English to Hon. Robert 
Boyle, the head of the Corporation in Eng- 
land. Mr. Boyle had been a most substan- 
tial helper in advancing the welfare of the 
Indians in New England. He had not only in- 

1 Appendix C. 



20 EARLY BIBLES. 

fluenced the English Corporation to sustain the 
work financially, but had given out of his per- 
sonal means £300 toward it, and also provided 
for an additional gift of £100 in his will. Mr. 
Eliot was profoundly grateful for the solid 
interest Mr. Boyle had taken in his plans, and in 
his letters addressed him as " Right honourable 
nursing father." Copies of the Bible of 1685 
with the Boyle dedication are now extremely 
scarce, as only twelve are known to exist, and 
nine of these are in public libraries. 

The errors in printing the Bible of 1663 were 
corrected in the second edition. While the lat- 
ter is not without errors, they are chiefly, as Dr. 
O'Callaghan has shown, mistakes in the spelling 
of words. Dr. Trumbull has called attention to 
the omission of the sentence, " but deceivethhis 
own heart," in St. James 1 : 26. In the second 
edition the error is corrected in a foot-note. 
The improved condition of the Bible of 1685 
over the first edition makes the second edition 
a more desirable book to those who wish to 
know something of the Indian language. 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 21 

A recent writer very justly says : " While the 
first edition of Eliot's Bible is the more attrac- 
tive to collectors of rare Americana, and de- 
serves the pre-eminence that is accorded to it, 
as a monument of early typography, and as the 
first version of the Bible printed in the New 
World, it should not be forgotten that to the 
student of the American languages, and to the 
general philologist, the second is the more valu- 
able ; and that all critical references to Eliot's 
version are or should be made to this revised 
and corrected edition." 

To collectors of rare books the Eliot Bibles 
are coveted treasures. As the years roll away 
the price of these rarities steadily rises. ^ At the 
sale of the Brinley library in New York, March, 
1879, an Eliot New Testament of 1661 brought 
$700. At the same sale a Bible of 1663 was 
knocked down at $1,000. At an auction in 
1884 a Bible of 1685 brought $950. In Lon- 
don, at a sale held July 2, 1882, Mr. Quaritch, 
the eminent bibliophile, bought for the late Mr. 

1 Appendix E. 



22 EARLY BIBLES. 

Kalbfleisch of New York an Eliot Bible of 
1663, containing the English title-pages, and 
dedication to Charles the Second, for £580 ; that 
is, about $2,900. Eighteen years ago Mr. Na- 
thaniel Paine of Worcester, Mass., made a list 
of the Eliot Bibles. By his count the total 
reached fifty-four. Since then several copies, 
especially those owned privately, have changed 
hands, and others have come to light. The 
writer has found twelve copies that have not 
been previously noticed or included in any list. 
There are more Eliot Bibles in the great libra- 
ries of Europe than was at first supposed. The 
total number of Indian New Testaments and 
Bibles now known to exist is more than one 
hundred.^ 

There are many interesting associations con- 
nected with copies of the Eliot Bibles, as they 
have been in the possession of kings, princes, 
statesmen, prelates, and great schools of learn- 
ing. There is in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 
an Eliot Bible of 1661, which was given by 

1 Appendix D. 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 23 

Ralph Freke in 1668. The year before he had 
received it from Harvard College. It contains 
the following inscription : — 

" By order of the overseers of Harvard CoUeg in Cam- 
bridg in New Eng><J, To the Right worshipp' Ralph Freke, 
Esq., a noble benefactor" to the aforesayd Colleg. 1667." 

Mr. Freke was one of the subscribers who 
gave Harvard College its first font of type. 
It may be that this Bible was printed from the 
type thus presented. 

The University of Virginia has a copy of the 
first edition of the Eliot Bible that was once 
the property of Dr. C. D. Ebeling, the German 
historian. At his death his library was pur- 
chased by Mr. Israel Thorndike of Boston, who 
presented it to Harvard University in 1818. 
As the University had another copy of Eliot, 
the corporation, at a meeting held June 22, 
1819, directed the treasurer to dispose of the 
Ebeling Bible. By some train of circumstances 
it came into the possession of the University of 
Virginia, where it has been since 1828, as the 
book catalogue of the institution shows. It 



24 EARLY BIBLES. 

contains Dr. Ebeling's autograph, and this in- 
scription on the fly-leaf: "Biblia Sacra in lin- 
guam Indorum Americanse gentis Twv Natick 
translata a Johanne Eliot Missionario Angli- 
cano. Impressa Cantabrigiae Novae Angliae 
oppido. Liber summae raritatis. V. Clement. 
Bibl. cur. T. iv. Freytag Anacleta." 

Increase Mather, while president of Harvard 
College, presented the universities at Utrecht 
and Leyden, Holland, with Eliot Bibles of 
1685, which are still preserved in the libra- 
ries of those institutions. The Eliot of 1663, 
in the library of the British Museum, was 
once the property of Hon. Edward Everett, 
United States minister to Great Britain. He 
presented it to Hon. Thomas Grenville, who 
bequeathed his library to the Museum. Hon. 
Rufus King, minister to England in 1796, was 
the owner of an Eliot Bible of 1685, which is 
now in the hands of his descendants in this 
country. Hon. Thomas Aspinwall, United 
States consul in England in 1815, possessed 
an Eliot New Testament of 1661. Brown Uni- 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 25 

versity, Providence, R.I., has a copy of the 
same year, which belonged to Koger Williams, 
and has notes in the margin in his own hand- 
writing. The Bible in the library of Yale Col- 
lege has the signature of John Winthrop, doubt- 
less the Winthrop who was governor of Con- 
necticut in 1698. Mr. Morgan of New York 
owns a first edition of Eliot that has the signa- 
ture of White Kennett, who was the Bishop of 
Peterborough in 1718. One of the finest and 
most desirable of the Eliot Bibles of 1663 is 
known to collectors as " the Allan copy," from 
its having belonged to John Allan, the antiqua- 
rian. It is one of the " Royal " copies, contain- 
ing the dedication to Charles the Second. It 
contains the autograph of William Ashurst, 
who was an active member of the Corporation 
for Propagating the Gospel in New England, 
and who became eventually its Governor. This 
gives this Bible peculiar interest. It was sold 
at the Brinley sale for $900, and is now the 
property of Mrs. Laura Eliot Cutter of Brook- 
lyn, N.Y., who is a lineal descendant of John 



26 EARLY BIBLES. 

Eliot by the sixth generation. The Eliot that 
originally belonged to the Marquis of Hast- 
ings is in the library of the late John Carter 
Brown, Providence, R.I. As might be ex- 
pected, there are several Bibles that contain the 
signatures of their former Indian owners, and 
these books in most cases give evidence in 
blackened and well-thumbed pages of the con- 
stant use they had in their day. 

John Eliot died at the advanced age of eighty- 
six, after a life replete with usefulness. His 
unselfishness, his devotion to duty, his broad 
sympathies, his strength and gentleness of char- 
acter, all made him a central figure in the history 
of colonial times in America. De Ponseau called 
him " The Augustine of New England." But 
the title " The Apostle to the Indians " has for 
generations been associated with his name wher- 
ever mentioned. In literature it appeared early, 
for Dr. Leuden, who was professor of Hebrew 
at Utrecht, Holland, dedicated in 1661 his Eng- 
lish and Hebrew Psalter to Eliot, " the venera- 
ble Apostle to the Indians in America." The 



THE ELIOT BIBLE. 27 

first use of the appellation is attributed to Rev. 
Thomas Thorowgood, who first used it in 1660. 
It was well applied ; for Eliot had the apostolic 
spirit, as indicated in a life-long consecration. 
Evidently the thought that guided him at all 
times was that which he once wrote on the blank 
leaf of his Indian grammar in these words : 
" Prayers and pains, through Christ Jesus, will 
do anything." 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 



During the early days of the American col- 
onies many Germans settled in Pennsylvania. 
They were as a class frugal and peaceable. 
They preferred, for the most part, the agri- 
cultural districts, where, by their industry, they 
acquired homes, and earned a generous living. 
Among these settlers was Christopher Saur,^ a 
man who rose to a position of commanding 
influence among his countrymen. He was born 
at Laasphe in Witgenstein, Germany, in 1693. 
He received his education at the University of 
Halle, where he studied medicine. He came to 
this country in 1724, and settled at German- 

1 Mr. Saur changed the spelling of his name when writing 
in English to Sower, and his descendants follow the same 
spelling. For the sake of uniformity, the German way of 
spelling the word, as found on the titlepage of the Saur 
Bible, has been retained in this article. 
28 



BIBLIA 



it 





((^e* 



mtnu 

» Bum ^m^mit 

t le&e^ EapittB fiitfrn ©ummatieii/ 

mtmmmm 

&(itMtkt) ^m9ovf> %Mt) 1743- 



Fac-simile of the title-page of the Saur Bible of 1743. Kedueed size. 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 29 

town, but in tlie same year went to Lancaster 
County and engaged in farming. In 1731 lie 
returned to Germantown, and followed the 
practice of medicine. As he was a man of 
decided convictions in matters of morality and 
religion, he became interested in bettering the 
temporal and spiritual condition of the Ger- 
mans about him. He found them destitute to a 
great extent of reading matter in their own 
tongue. He at once began to import Bibles 
and various religious books for their use. As 
many of them were poor, he induced several 
Bible societies in Germany to donate copies of 
the Scriptures, and especially the publishing 
houses at Halle and Biidingen. As time went 
on, and the intellectual wants of the German 
people became more evident, he urged the pub- 
lication of books and papers in America. He 
knew nothing of printing; but an emergency 
arose which drew him into the business, which 
he followed the remainder of his life with devo- 
tion and enthusiasm. Thomas says, " The Bap- 
tists, or Tunkers, in Germany raised by sub- 



30 EARLY BIBLES. 

scription a sum of money, in order to purchase 
religious books and disperse them among their 
poor friends in Pennsylvania, and to establish a 
press there to print for the same purpose. 
Accordingly a press and types, with a quantity 
of books, were sent out and intrusted to the 
management of a German Baptist by the name 
of Jacob Gaus. He was to have the use of, 
and the emolument arising from, the press, on 
condition that he should distribute a certain 
number of copies of each of the religious books . 
he should print among the poor Germans. 
This person did not possess the ability necessary 
for the undertaking, and no other person who 
was thought to have sufficient ability for the 
purpose was found to take his place. The busi- 
ness was suspended, and the press and type 
viewed as useless lumber." ^ It was at this 
point that Mr. Saur came into possession of the 
property. He set up his press, imported work- 
men from Germany, and launched his publish- 
ing enterprise. 

In 1738 he began the printing of an almanac, 

1 Thomas's History of Printing in America, vol. i. p. 271. 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 31 

which was the first one in German printed in 
this country. It was very small at first, con- 
sisting of only twelve pages. It was enlarged 
in 1743 to sixteen pages, but by 1750 it had 
increased to forty-eight pages. Its publication 
was continued for forty years. 

So great was the faith of the Germans in the 
integrity of Mr. Saur that in seriousness they 
consulted his almanac for weather predictions. 
A farmer, about to make a journey, referred to 
his almanac and found the day marked " fair." 
He went in an open wagon, but ere long a 
shower drenched him through and through. In 
great anger he called upon Mr. Saur for an 
explanation. The sturdy German quietly re- 
plied, "My friend, I made the almanac, but 
the Almighty made the weather." Mr. Saur 
printed the first number of a religious news- 
paper on August 20, 1789, and also began the 
publication of a religious quarterly, in German, 
in 1746. These publications had a large circu- 
lation among the German population. The 
newspaper was the first religious newspaper 



32 EARLY BIBLES. 

issued in this country. It is said to have 
reached a circulation of ten thousand copies, 
which was large for that time. 

Through this almanac and newspaper Mr. 
Saur urged the publication of a German Bible, 
and pleaded for help. In 1739 he issued his 
Proposal. It is in several respects unique, and 
worth quoting nearly in full. He writes, — 

" Therefore, as we think we have some abilities to meet 
this great desideratum, we are also willing to contribute all 
that is in our power thereto. But as the publishing of such 
a work requires a much greater outlay than our means are 
adequate to, we deem it necessary that all the subscribers, 
or, to speak plainly, all those who desire a copy of the Bible 
shall notify us, and pay half a crown which is necessary: 
First, that we may know a little how many we may venture 
to print. Second, to assist us in our payments, as the paper 
for one Bible alone costs 7s. 6d. Thirdly, that if we should 
be necessitated to involve ourselves by loans in getting it up, 
we may have something to depend on to relieve us again 
from our embarrassments; and lastly, as the covmtry is so 
new yet that we have no example of the kind to pattern 
after. 

" The form shall be long quarto; that is, the height and 
breadth like this page, and with the same type, which we 
think sufficiently readable to old and young. In thickness, 
it shall be about the breadth of a hand, for we are willing to 
take good paper to it. 

"Notes or comments we will add none, as we hope that 
all those who read the Holy Scriptures with a sincere heart, 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 33 

will, through the teachings of the fear of God, which is the 
beginning of all wisdom, become sufficiently acquainted 
with the sinfulness and depravity of his heart, to seek for 
an interest in the Saviour, through whose redeeming power 
he will be taught to love Him and keep His words; then the 
Father will love him and come unto him, and they will 
make their abode with him. And if the Godhead thus 
dwells in him, then the Holy Ghost will be the best com- 
mentator of His own words ; as Moses, the Prophets, and 
Christ, the Apostles, and Evangelists have spoken and re- 
corded them; and that, then, will be the correctest and 
most reliable commentary." 

"Concerning the price, we cannot say precisely: First, 
because we do not know yet how many we shall print, for 
the smaller the number, the higher the price will be, and 
the larger the number, the lower the price will be. Second, 
because several friends of the Truth have, out of love to 
God, and for the good of their needy neighbors, already con- 
tributed toward it, and others have offered to do so. Partly, 
that its price may be so low that the parsimonious and 
avaricious may have no excuse, and those of lesser means, 
no burden. Therefore, in proportion to the number of such 
benefactors, and as our own means will enable us to do, the 
price will be. But this much we may say, that all unbound, 
none shall cost over fourteen shillings, which we hope will 
not be thought dear, especially when we consider that the 
paper alone is at least four times as high here as it is in 
Germany." 

To print a Bible at that day was an immense 
undertaking, for type was not as yet manufac- 
tured in the new country. Workmen were few, 
and financial aid slow in coming. But Mr. 



34 EARLY BIBLES. 

Saur persisted in his appeals, and believed in 
the ultimate success of his plans. He appealed 
to Germany for assistance, as well as to friends 
in America. His plea was not in vain. Mr. 
Heinrich Ehrenfried Luther, a type-founder of 
Frankfort-on-the-Main, presented him with a 
font of type, asking no other compensation than 
to receive a copy of the Bible when completed. 

Mr. Luther was not only a prominent type- 
founder, but a man of literary attainments who 
received university honors. As a lawyer of 
ability, he filled the position of Court Coun- 
sellor of Wiirtemberg. At that time, Frank- 
fort-on-the-Main was one of the four free cities 
of Germany. He was born in the above city in 
the year 1700, and died in 1770. 

As soon as the type was received, work upon 
the Bible began. The book was three years in 
going through the press, and the last sheet was 
finished in August, 1743. Considering the 
early day at which the Saur Bible was printed, 
it is an admirable example of workmanship. 

It was the first Bible printed in America in 
a European language. 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 35 

The Title-Page: — 

SBiblia, I ©as ifl: | bie | §eUlge ©d^rift | Slltes unb 9?eue3 | 
Sefiaments, | nad) bet ©eutfc^en Ueberfe^ung | 2)r. SKattin 
Sutlers, I Wilt jcbes SopitelS ^ur^en ©ummarien, au(^ | 
bc^gefugten oielen unb rit^tigen *ParafleIen; | ncbft einem 2[n« 
bang | Ses britten unb Dierten 33uc^8 gjra unb bes | britteu 
Sud^S ber liJiaccabaer. | 
©ermantottjn: 
I @ebrucftbe9(S^ri{}ot)^@aur,1743. 

Translation: The Bible, That is the Holy 
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, 
after the German translation of Dr. Martin 
Luther, with short summaries to every chapter, 
also many and correct parallel references, be- 
sides an Appendix of the Third and Fourth 
Books of Ezra, and the Third Book of Macca- 
bees. Germantown: Printed by Christopher 
Saur. 1743. 

Collation : Title, one leaf ; verso, blank. Pre- 
face, one page. Order of Books of Old Testament, 
one page. Text, pp. 1-805. Apocrypha, pp. 
806-949. Appendix, pp. 950-995. New Testa- 
ment title, one leaf. Preface, one leaf. Order 
of Books, one page. Text, pp. 3-277. Register 
of Epistles and Gospels for Sundays of Christian 



36 EARLY BIBLES. 

Year, two pages. Register of Epistles and Gos- 
pels for certain Saints' Days, one leaf. Short 
history of translations of the Bible, four pages. 

Preface : — 

" While all books require a preface by means 
of which the use and peculiarity of the book is 
briefly described, the Bible is in itself suffi- 
ciently known, and itself brings all that can only 
be written about ; above all It and every Scripture 
given of God is useful, for doctrine, for reproof, 
for improvement, for instruction in righteousness, 
that a man of God may be perfect, equipped for 
all good works, etc. (2 Tim. iii. 15, 16, 17). The 
moving causes for printing this present Bible, 
have been chiefly, as may be perceived : Firstly, 
that so many poor Germans come to the country 
who do not all bring Bibles. Secondly, that so 
many are born and bred in the land, who also 
do not all know how to obtain Bibles, and it is 
noticed that the well-to-do usually care for 
themselves and theirs. 

Luther's translation has been selected, be- 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 37 

cause most in keeping with the usual German 
idiom, and though excellent translations, word 
for word, have all been discriminated in admi- 
rable passages, yet his simply expresses but a 
single idea. It is sure that he who reads those 
Scriptures with honest heart, which are clear 
and plain and require no explanation, will, 
through Christ's power, attain to practice, and 
will remain true to the selfsame One, who is to 
be placed over so many of God's mysteries as 
are needful to his eternal salvation ; and he who 
will be a doer of the Word and not merely a 
hearer or reader, deceive neither himself nor 
another. To whomsoever aught appears incom- 
prehensible in reading, and he lacks true wis- 
dom, let him ask it of God, who gives it richly 
to him who asks in faith (James i. 5). And 
if somewhat be not granted unto him for a sea- 
son, he will recognize it as clear as the sun at 
another time, when he reaches the same stand- 
point where the Scripture is. 

The Halle Bible, in fact its 34th edition, has 
been taken ; Firstly, because it is very rich in 



38 EARLY BIBLES. 

parallels. Secondly, because it is believed that 
it contains the fewest printing mistakes, because 
the type-setting remains standing. The accusa- 
tion that one has mixed his own with it, and 
not followed Luther's translation, is regarded 
as unworthy of contradiction. It is before our 
eyes, and whoever compares our printing with 
the aforesaid edition, will find that not only has 
it been adhered to, but that more than a hun- 
dred printer's errors have been removed. The 
latter are remembered, not to censure that work, 
but that, should any one find that mistakes have 
again crept in without our knowledge, it may 
be forgiven us as unto other men. 

Moreover, no explanations have been made, 
a procedure in which we are as much at liberty 
as others ; Firstly, because by means of Scrip- 
ture parallelisms, one phrase frequently illumi- 
nates another in the Spiritual sense. Secondly, 
because it is certain that to him who reads the 
Scriptures with an upright heart, the Holy 
Spirit in the heart reveals His true meaning 
by the reading itself ; and according as every 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 39 

believer himself undergoes such an experience 
in himself, individually, so one believes assuredly 
that the time nears when the whole earth shall 
be full of the knowledge of the Lord (Isa. ii. 9), 
and there shall be no need that brother teach 
brother and admonish him to know the Lord 
(Jer. xxxi. 34). But they shall all be taught of 
God, both small and great, when He shall pour 
out His Spirit on all flesh, that sons and daugh- 
ters prophesy, young men see visions, and the 
old men dream dreams, and His Spirit shall 
flow upon His servants and handmaids (Joel 
ii. 28-32). So will He himself make clear His 
meaning, and show His might, yea, verily, be 
the Word itself. Flee hither, who can; come 
soon, Lord Jesus." 

The Saur Bible is a quarto, bound in bevelled 
boards, covered with strong leather, with the 
covers held together with clasps. It is printed 
in double columns, with parallel references, and 
there are short summaries at the head of each 
chapter. There is an ornamented headpiece at 
the beginning of Genesis, and another before 



40 EARLY BIBLES. 

the Gospel of St. Matthew. The general title- 
page is printed in black and red. The edition 
consisted of twelve hundred copies, and the 
price was eighteen shillings ; that is, about two 
dollars and a half. 

Mr. Saur did not forget his obligation to Mr. 
H. E. Luther, for he had twelve copies of his 
Bible substantially bound, and sent them on 
the 5th of December, 1743, to Germany, by the 
ship "Queen of Hungary." The vessel, when 
near St. Malmo, was attacked by French and 
Spanish pirates, and all the cargo was captured. 
At the expiration of two years, through some 
unknown events, the Bibles reached their des- 
tination, and came into the possession of Mr. 
Luther. There are persons who regard this 
account as highly romantic, and quite improba- 
ble, but there can be no doubt of its truthful- 
ness. Mr. Luther gave one copy to the Royal 
Library at Frankfort-on-the-Main, where it is 
now preserved. From the presentation inscrip- 
tion in Latin we learn that the Bible was given 
to the library in the year 1745 ; that is, two 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 41 

years after its publication. Here we have in- 
direct testimony that it was two years in reach- 
ing Germany. But the truth of the account is 
placed beyond all question by the direct confir- 
mation of it by Mr. Luther in his own hand- 
writing. He presented one of the twelve copies 
of the Saur Bible to the Duchess Elizabeth 
Sophie Marie von Braunschweig, who had a col- 
lection of several thousand rare editions of the 
Holy Scriptures. At her death she bequeathed 
the collection to the Ducal Library at Wolfen- 
biittel, Germany. The librarian of this institu- 
tion, Dr. O. von Heinemann, in a letter bearing 
date February 8th, 1892, speaks of the presenta- 
tion volume as "well preserved and well bound." 
In regard to the story of the Bibles falling into 
the hands of pirates, he says, — 

"All this is stated in a note, written in Latin and 
signed by Luther with his own hand, attached to the inside 
of the front cover of our copy; as well as in a German 
translation of the same, entirely in Luther's handwriting, 
inserted in the book." 

But the most interesting evidence of all is that 
written in the copy which Mr. Luther retained 



42 EARLY BIBLES. 

for his own library. This book is now in the 
possession of Dr. J. Haeberlin, of Frankfort-on- 
the-Main, who is Mr. Luther's great-great- 
grandson, and the inheritor of his possessions. 
In a letter dated March 6, 1892, Dr. Haeberlin 
has given some very important information con- 
cerning Luther's copy of the Saur Bible, He 
states that it contains the following dedication : — 

THIS HOLY BOOK, 
By the Aid of God 
recently published in the German language in 
The Western World, 
with types from the Luther Printing House, which has 
flourished in Frankfort since the invention of printing, 
under the widely known name of 
EGENOLF, 
and still continues to prosper, 
WAS the very first 
preceded by none in the English, Dutch, or any other lan- 
guage, and was sent with eleven other copies on account of 
its being a novel and rare production, by the publisher, 
Christopher Saur, 
to Europe : 
But, 

"the queen of HUNGARY" 

— so the ship was called, — under the command of the 
Englishman Faulkner, after having successfully completed 
the greater portion of the journey, not far from the head- 
land of the Isle Maclovius, known under the name of 
ST. MALMO, 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 43 

fell into the hands of 
French and Spanish Pirates, 
who offered the ship with its cargo of wares and these 
12 copies, 
the Apostles of the Western World, as it were, 
at public sale, 
until they all finally, through a wonderful dispensation of 
Providence, after a lapse of two years, were released from 
the bands of robbers, and delivered uninjured to the Luther 
Printing House, to whom they owed their existence. De- 
part, then, my Book, and become in consideration of thy 
marvellous fortunes, under the name of 
" Apostle," 
together with thy similarly delivered companion volumes, a 
permanent ornament of the most noted libraries, in fulfil- 
ment of the well considered wish and will of the donor, 
whose written, not printed name follows. 

LUTHEK, DR. 
Frankfort-on-the-Main, January 1, 1747. 



It is evident that Mr. Luther was not aware 
of the fact that the Eliot Bible had been printed 
in America nearly a hundred years before, or he 
would not have said that the Saur Bible, " was 
the very first, preceded by none in the English, 
Dutch, or any other language." 

Mr. Luther presented a third copy of the 
original twelve Bibles to Count Keyserlingk. 
This volume is now in the Royal Library at 



44 EARLY BIBLES. 

Stuttgart. Dr. T. Schott, the librarian, in a 
letter of February 8tli, 1892, writes : — 

" The copy is evidently in its original binding of English 
leather. The sections of the back are ornamented with 
small gold toolings, and the front and back covers have 
prettily shaped designs in the leather. There is a middle 
field, or centre-piece. On the inside of the front cover is a 
printed dedication from E. H. Luther to Count Hermann 
Karl Keyserlingk, Counsellor of the Empress Elizabeth of 
Russia. According to the Latin inscription, the Count 
lived for several years in Luthers hous'e. The same is 
dated Frankfort, Dec, 1745. 

" Over the dedication is a coat-of-arms, most likely that of 
Luther. It consists of a shield parted diagonally from 
upper right-hand corner to lower left, on which is a gallop- 
ing winged horse. In the upper left-hand corner is a small 
division representing three mountain tops, on the middle 
one of which is a cross. The crest is also decorated with 
these three mountain tops and cross. 

" The last owner before the copy came into the posses- 
sion of the Royal Library of Stuttgart was the well-known 
collector of Bibles, Pastor J. Lorck of Copenhagen. The 
copy is in every respect splendidly preserved." 

A fourtb presentation copy is now preserved 
in the Prince Stolberg Library at Wernigerode. 
A fifth copy was given by Mr. Luther to Dr. 
Ruppersburg of Marburg. Members of his 
family came to this country in 1843 and 
brought the Bible with them, but just where 
it is in the United States is not known. 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 45 

A sixth copy was given to the Landes Biblio- 
thek at Cassel, and the seventh to the Ducal 
Library at Gotha, where they are preserved. 

An eighth copy was presented by Mr. Luther 
to Count Heinrich de Bunan, and this is now 
in the possession of the Royal Library at 
Dresden, Germany. 

It contains a presentation inscription in these 
words : — 

THIS HOLY BOOK 

NEVER BEFORE PRINTED IN THE WESTERN WORLD 

in either English, Dutch, or any other language, but now 
under Divine protection, for the first time in German, and 
by tjrpes from his own foundry, is presented with the hope 
that it will give pleasure as a rarity, and on account of its 
coming from a remote land, to the Library of 

THE ILLUSTRIOUS HEINRICH DE BUNAN, 

COUNT OP 

THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, 

PRIVY COUNCILLOR 

OF HIS CHRISTIAN MAJESTY, 

and of 

THE IMPERIAL COURT, 

and 

AMBASSADOR OF THE SAME TO THE 

ORDERS OF THE CIRCLE OF THE RHINE 

AND LOWER SAXONY, 

By 
HEINRICH EHRENFRIED LUTHER, J.N.D. & C.W.A. 
Frankfort-on-the-Main; July, 1747. 



46 EARLY BIBLES. 

Dr. Haeberlin states that in Luther's copy, 
which he retained for himself, there is a 
memorandum in his own hand-writing of the 
disposition he made of the remaining eleven 
copies. The list is as follows : " St. Petersburg, 
Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hanover, Dres- 
den, Gotha, Weimar, Braunschweig, Cassel, 
and Stuttgart." It will be observed that no 
mention is made in this list of the copy 
presented to the Royal Library at Frankfort- 
on-the-Main, or of the copy given to Dr. 
Ruppersburg. Whether these were additional 
copies received from Mr. Saur, or whether they 
belonged to the original twelve, and had 
changed hands, is not at present known. Of 
the Bibles that were sent to individuals or 
public libraries at St. Petersburg, Stockholm, 
Copenhagen, Berlin, Hanover, and Weimar, 
no information has been received, though it 
has been solicited. It will be seen that we 
have located nine of the presentation copies, 
and it is to be hoped that in time the remain- 
ing three may be traced. 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 47 

The encouragement and support that Mr. 
Luther gave Saur, in publishing the Bible 
in this country, not only called out the grati- 
tude of the German residents, but of all who 
were interested in the advancement of morals 
and religion. Dr. Haeberlin says, " In later 
years, when Franklin visited Europe, he per- 
sonally thanked Luther." He also writes, " Mr. 
Luther was given a large land grant, which he, 
however, never claimed, as he scorned to receive 
any material compensation. I do not know 
what became of the deed of the property." 

Notwithstanding the energy and enterprise of 
Mr. Saur in giving his countrymen the Bible in 
their own language, he did not receive the sup- 
port and gratitude he deserved. He was 
accused of selfish and mercenary motives. 
Those who differed from him in his religious 
opinions denounced his Bible even before it 
appeared. Booksellers tried to undersell him 
by offering imported Bibles at low rates. 
Another class raised opposition by declar- 
ing that his Bible was not a genuine ren- 



48 EARLY BIBLES. 

dering of the Lutheran translation. Relative 
to this last charge he wrote, "All that our 
adversaries can possibly say against us is con- 
cerning our appendix of the 3rd and 4th Books 
of Esdras, and the 3rd Book of the Maccabees, 
which is not Luther's. The Halle edition of 
1708 contained it, but our 34th edition did not, 
or we should have followed it. Hence, there- 
fore, we added it from the Berlinberger edition, 
which we think every child that has the least 
spark of godliness in him must love and revere. 
But whoever does not like it can inform us, 
and we will omit it in the binding. So, also, 
our addenda of the various translations." 

Mr. Saur made every effort to promote the 
reading of the Scriptures by bringing his Bible 
within the reach of all who desired it. Just 
before it was completed he wrote, — 

" The price of our now nearly finished Bible 
in plain binding with a clasp will be eighteen 
shillings, but to the poor and needy we have 
no price." 

Mr. Saur was a many-sided man, and had 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 49 

much ingenuity and versatility. He erected a 
mill for manufacturing his own paper and ink. 
He also did his own binding, and contrived to 
cast the type he needed. The remarkable 
statement has been made of him that he was 
familiar with sixteen trades. The business, 
now so extensive, of making cast-iron stoves is 
said to have originated with him. The profes- 
sion of medicine he never abandoned. 

Mr. Saur died in 1758, at the age of sixty- 
five, and was buried in the rear of his dwelling 
at Gerniantown. 

He was succeeded in business by his only 
son of the same name. He, like his father, was 
a man of pronounced executive ability. He 
enlarged the business and continued the publi- 
cation of the newspaper and almanac. In addi- 
tion he printed and bound over two hundred 
books. Several mills were engaged in manu- 
facturing his paper, and he had workmen to 
engrave his woodcuts. He built a type foun- 
dry, which was the first of its kind in this coun- 
try. This gave him all the type he needed, and 



50 EARLY BIBLES. 

enabled him to supply otlier printers. This 
foundry expanded as the years went on, and is 
now represented by the firm of L. Johnson & 
Co. of Philadelphia, who are at the head of 
the largest type establishment in the United 
States. 

In 1763 Christopher Saur printed the second 
edition of the German Bible. It is a quarto, 
and resembles the first edition in its general 
appearance, but differs from it in some respects. 
Both the title-pages are printed in black, and 
the type throughout the book is set closer. A 
portion of the last chapter of the Fourth Book 
of Ezra, and the whole of the Third Book of 
Maccabees, are printed in smaller type than the 
other parts of the book. The letters of the gen- 
eral title also differ in size from those of the 
first edition. The preface is a new one, and is 
entirely unlike that of the Bible of 1743. The 
opening sentence reads : — 

" Herewith appear, in tliis American part of the world, 
the Holy Scriptures — called the Bible — publicly printed 
for the second time in the High German language, to the 
honor of the German nation, — inasmuch as no other 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 51 

nation can claim to have printed the Bible, in this part of 
the world, in its own language." 

This second issue of the Bible consisted of 
an edition of two thousand copies. 

Thirteen years later Mr. Saur was prepared 
to send out the third edition of the German 
Bible, — that of 1776, — which was also the last. 
The printing of the three thousand copies — 
the extent of the edition — had been completed, 
and the leaves had been stitched together and 
awaited the finishing touches of the binder in 
applying the covers ; but the war between the 
colonies and Great Britain interrupted the 
work. 

At the invasion of Germantown Mr. Saur 
fled from the place, and the British troops 
destroyed nearly all the copies of the Bible, bj 
converting the leaves into litter for their horses, 
and by using the paper for their cartridges. 
Catharine Saur, the daughter of the pub- 
lisher, secured ten copies, and after they were 
bound presented them to her children. 

The preface is the same as that of the edition 



52 EARLY BIBLES. 

of 1763. It is signed, but not dated. The second 
edition is dated " Germantown, December 8th, 
1763." The title-pages are the same, and a 
similar reduction of the type in the middle of 
the book. Substantially, the editions of 1763 
and 1776 are one and the same. 

Saur died in 1784, leaving five sons and three 
daughters. His business, though sadly dis- 
turbed by the war, descended to his son, Chris- 
topher Saur the third. Generations of printers 
sprang from this stock, and the publishing 
house in Philadelphia still bearing the name of 
Saur can point back to an honorable record 
extending over one hundred and fifty years. 
There were but three issues of the Saur Bibles, 
but a number of editions of the New Testa- 
ment in German. These publications bear the 
dates of 1745, 1755, 1760, 1761, 1763, 1764, 
1769, and 1775. The editions of 1761 and 1764 
are extremely rare. O'Callaghan does not men- 
tion them, and evidently was not aware of their 
existence. The first edition of the Saur Bible 
— that of 1743 — is a scarce book, and commands 



THE SAUR BIBLE. 63 

a high price. A copy offered at the Brinley sale 
a few years ago brought |350. The editions of 
1763 and 1776 are not considered as valuable. 
Nearly all the copies of the Saur Bible are 
owned in the United States and Germany.^ No 
library making a specialty of Americana can be 
considered complete without possessing this 
Bible, the first printed in this country in a Eu- 
ropean language. 

The New Testament in German was pub- 
lished in several places in the United States 
after the Saur Bible of 1776, but no issue of 
the entire Bible in German was undertaken for 
thirty years. Then, in 1805, Gottlob Yung- 
mann published at Reading, Pa., a German 
Bible in quarto. In typography and general 
appearance it resembles the Saur Bible, and 
may be considered a continuation of it, and evi- 
dently the publisher so intended it to be. In 
the preface he says, — 

" In this part of the world, which is called the American 
United States, there appear once more, after a lapse of 
thirty years, the Holy Scriptures (which are also called the 
1 Appendix F. 



54 EARLY BIBLES. 

Bible), publicly printed in the High German language, to 
the honor of the descendants of the old German nation. 
Whether a Bible in the language mentioned will again 
make its appearance in these United States, is open to 
much and great doubt, more especially as the German lan- 
guage is declining in them with such extraordinary rapid- 
ity, and is suffering English, as the established and gener- 
ally used, and, indeed, preferable language, to make aston- 
ishing progress. Whether this is to be ascribed more to 
the industrious reading of the Holy Scriptures by the 
English descendants in this part of the world, or to some- 
thing else, whatever it may be, I will not here inquire, but 
recommend it to every individual German descendant him- 
self, for investigation and alteration." 

After speaking of the value of the Word of 
God to "apostate human creatures," he refers 
to Christopher Saur, and ends by quoting 
nearly the whole of the preface of the Saur 
Bible of 1776. This publication by Yungmann 
never reached a second edition. 



THE AITKEN BIBLE. 



Me. Isaiah Thomas, in his "History of 
Printing in America," when referring to the 
booksellers of Boston, says, ^ " Kneeland and 
Green printed, principally for Daniel Hench- 
man, an edition of the Bible in small 4to. This 
was the first Bible printed in America, in the 
English language. It was carried through the 
press as privately as possible, and has the Lon- 
don imprint of the copy from which it was re- 
printed, — viz., ' London : Printed by Mark Bas- 
kett. Printer to the King's Most Excellent Ma- 
jesty,' — in order to prevent a prosecution from 
those in England and Scotland, who published 
the Bible by a patent from the crown, or cum 
privilegio, as did the English universities of Ox- 
ford and Cambridge. When I was an ap- 

1 Thomas's History of Printing, vol. i., pp. 107, 108. 



56 EARLY BIBLES. 

prentice, I often heard those who had assisted at 
the case and press in printing this Bible make 
mention of the fact. The late Governor Han- 
cock was related to Henchman, and knew the 
particulars of the transaction. He possessed a 
copy of this impression. As it has a London 
imprint, at this day it can be distinguished from 
an English edition of the same date only by 
those who are acquainted with the niceties of 
typography. This Bible issued from the press 
about the time that the partnership of Kneeland 
and Green expired. The edition was not large ; 
I have been informed that it did not exceed 
seven or eight hundred copies." 

The correctness of this statement has been 
assailed by Mr. Bancroft, who, in his " History 
of the United States," ^ says that Thomas " re- 
peats only what he heard. Himself a collector, 
he does not profess ever to have seen a copy of 
the alleged American edition of the English 
Bible. Search has repeatedly been made for a 
copy and always without success. Six or eight 

1 Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. v., p. 266. 



iHOLY BIBLE,! 

f ' ^ ' 

! Containing the Old ana Nevt • ^ I 



I TEST AM E N T Si i 

I * Newly tranflatcd out of the 

I Original Tongues; 

i 

And with the fornricr 

TRANSLATIONS 



-\ 



^ Diligfiltly compared and rcvifed. 




iP H I L A D E L P n I A: - 

I Printeii AND Soto BT R. AITKEKV^T PorK's i 

t HbAD, 'i"HRF.E DooRt. AHOVi: lllECoiVKC * 

jj V liou<-.K, IN Makkii- ST#£BT. a 

■Jt X M.JJCC.f. X X Sll. * 



i»«(«r 



Fac-simile of the title page of the Aitken Bible, 17S2. Exact size. 



THE AITKEN BIBLE. 57 

hundred Bibles in quarto could hardly have 
been printed, bound, and sold in Boston, then a 
small town, undiscovered. Nor would they all 
have disappeared. The most complete cata- 
logues of English Bibles enumerate no one with 
the imprint which was said to have been copied. 
Till a copy of the pretended American edition 
is produced no credit can be given to the sec- 
ond-hand story." 

As no copy of this supposed Bible has ever 
been identified, Mr. O'Callaghan omits it from 
his " List of Bibles printed in America." Any 
testimony in the handwriting of Mr. Aitken 
that his Bible published in 1782 was the first 
Bible printed in America in the English lan- 
guage would be of great value, for he could not 
make this claim, if in his day some other edition 
had already claimed it. Fortunately, we have 
this testimony in Mr. Aitken's own words, writ- 
ten with his own hand. In the British Museum 
there is to be seen a copy of the Aitken Bible 
in two volumes. The following note is on the 
back of the title-page of the first volume, in the 



58 EARLY BIBLES. 

■writing of Mr. Aitken : " This first copy of the 
first edition of the Bible ever printed in Amer- 
ica in the English language, is presented to 
Ebenezar Hazard, Esq., by the Editor." In- 
serted at the beginning of the second volume is 
a letter as follows : — 

Philadelphia, July 6, 1844. 
Deae Sir, — I send you herewith the copy of the Bible 
published in this city in 1782 by Robert Aitken, which you 
may be assured I part with, with great regret, as well be- 
cause it was presented by the publisher to my father, as 
because it is, according to the certificate on the fly-leaf in 
Mr. Aitken' s own handwriting, "the first copy of the first 
edition ever printed in America in the English language," 
the first sheets having been carefully laid aside for my father 
— who was very intimate with the publisher — until the 
whole work was completed. 

Yours truly, 

Sam Hazabd. 
Chas. Marshall, Esq. 

This Bible was formerly in the collection of 
Mr. Lea Wilson, and was bought by the British 
Museum in 1849. The books are in the original 
binding of olive-green leather. The two volumes 
are divided at the end of Ecclesiastes, a division 
peculiar to this set, as in other copies the sec- 



THE AITKEN BIBLE. 59 

ond volume begins with the Gospel of St. 
Matthew. In some cases the volumes were 
bound in one. 

Robert Aitken was a native of Dalkeith, 
Scotland, and emigrated to America in 1769, 
and settled at Philadelphia as a bookseller. In 
1771 he added bookbinding to his business, hav- 
ing learned that art in Edinburgh. Later, in 
1774, he became a publisher. The war of the 
colonies with Great Britain interrupted com- 
merce, and books were difficult to procure, and 
especially Bibles. The urgency in this direc- 
tion was so great that a memorial was presented 
to Congress suggesting and urging the printing 
of Bibles in America. The committee to whom 
the memorial was referred reported in the 
autumn of 1777 that the difficulty of procuring 
type and paper was so great that they recom- 
mended Congress to advance the money for pub- 
lishing an edition of the Bible, or, if this was not 
expedient, to order the importation of a number 
sufficient to meet the demand. Congress re- 
solved upon the latter course, and directed the 



60 EARLY BIBLES. 

committee to import twenty thousand copies of 
the Bible. During the agitation of this subject 
Mr. Aitken was encouraged to issue an edition 
of the New Testament, which appeared from his 
press in Philadelphia in 1777. A copy pre- 
served in the Lenox Library, New York, enables 
us to see how humble this effort was, for the 
book is but a small duodecimo. The title-page 
is as follows : — 

The New 
TESTAMENT 

OP OUE LOKD AND SAVIOUE JESUS CHKIST; 

Newly Translated out of the Original Greek ; 
And with the former Translations 

DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED. 

Appointed to be read in Churches. 
PHILADELPHIA : 

PRINTED AND SOLD BY 
R. AITKEN, 

Printer and Bookseller, 
Front Street. 

1777. 

Spectamur agendo. 



THE AITKEN BIBLE. 61 

These last words form a motto and are placed 
in a scroll. The letters of the imprint are sup- 
ported by two children, and the crest is a bird 
with an olive-branch in its mouth. On the back 
of the title-page are the words, " The Order of 
the Books of the New Testament with their 
Names, and the Numbers of their Chapters." 
The printed matter of the text runs from page 3 
to page 353, and there are no headings. On the 
verso of page 353 are these words : " Books 
Printed and Sold at R. Aitken's Printing Office 
opposite the London Coffee-House Front- 
Street." 

Second and third editions of the New Testa- 
ment appeared in 1778 and 1779, and fourth and 
fifth in 1780 and 1781. Encouraged by the re- 
ception which had been given the publication of 
the New Testament, Mr. Aitken announced his 
purpose of printing an edition of the entire 
Bible, and in 1781 presented a petition to Con- 
gress, seeking support and sanction. His peti- 
tion was referred to a committee consisting 
of Messrs. Duane, McKean, and Witherspoon. 



62 EARLY BIBLES. 

They reported in 1782 that they had watched 
with interest the work of Mr. Aitken, and 
recommended, in order that a safe opinion might 
be obtained of the correctness with which his 
Bible had been prepared for publication, that it 
should be submitted to the two chaplains of 
Congress for their examination. The chaplains 
were the Rev. William White, D.D., afterward 
the Bishop of Pennsylvania, and the Rev. George 
Duffield, D.D. September 10, 1782, they re- 
ported to the committee as follows : — 

" Agreeably to your desire we have paid at- 
tention to Mr. Robert Aitken's impression of 
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
ment. Having selected and examined a variety 
of passages throughout the work, we are of the, 
opinion that it is executed with great accuracy 
as to the sense, and with as few grammatical and 
typographical errors as could be expected in an 
undertaking of such magnitude. Being our- 
selves witnesses of the demand for this invalu- 
able book, we rejoice in the present prospect of 
a supply, hoping that it will prove as advan- 



THE AITKEN BIBLE. 63 

tageous as it is honorable to the gentleman who 
has exerted himself to furnish it at the evident 
risk of his private fortune." 

In agreement with this recommendation Con- 
gress in 1782 "Resolved, that the United States, 
in Congress assembled, highly approve the 
pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken 
as subservient to the interests of religion as 
well as an instance of the progress of arts in 
this country ; and being satisfied from the above 
report of his care and accuracy in the execution 
of the work, they recommend this edition of the 
Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, 
and hereby authorize him to publish this recom- 
mendation in the manner he shall think 
proper." 

Mr. Aitken's Bible was issued from his press 
in Philadelphia in 1782. It was usually bound 
in two volumes, though in some cases copies 
have been found that are bound in one volume. 
It is in size a small duodecimo, printed in brevier 
type. The whole page measures 6 inches long 
by 3i inches wide. The printed paper is 5| 



64 EARLY BIBLES. 

inches long and 3i inches wide. The title-page 
reads — 

THE 

HOLY BIBLE, 

CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW 

TESTAMENTS: 

NEWLY TBANSLATED OUT OF THE 

ORIGINAL TONGUES, 

AND WITH THE FOKMEB 

TRANSLATIONS 

DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED AND SOLD BY E. AITKEN, AT POPE'S 

Head, Three doors above the Coffee House, in Market Street. 
MDCCLXXXIL 

The title-page also contains the State arms of 
Pennsylvania, which consist of an escutcheon 
with representations of ship, plough, and 
sheaves of wheat. The crest is an eagle, and 
the supporters, rampant horses. The motto is 
" Virtue, Liberty, and Independence." The back 
of the title-page is blank. Then follow the 
"Resolutions of Congress," occupying one and 



THE AITKEN BIBLE. 65 

a half pages. The next half-page contains 
" Names and Order of all the Books of the O. & 
N. Test." The Bible throughout has no paging. 
The New Testament title-page is the same as 
that of the edition of the previous year, 1781. 
It reads as follows : — 

THE NEW 

TESTAMENT 

OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR 
JESUS CHRIST; 

NEWLY TRANSLATED OUT OF THE 

ORIGINAL GREEK; 

AND WITH THE FOEMEE 

TRANSLATIONS 
Diligently compared and revised. 

PHILADELPHIA : 

FEINTED AND SOLD BY E. AITKEN, BOOKSELLEB 

Opposite the Coffee House, Front Street. 
MDCCLXXXI. 

The title-page also contains a wood-cut of a 
hat and flute. On the back of the same page 
is this line : — 

Names and Oedee of the Books of the N.T. 



6Q EARLY BIBLES. 

Below, in large letters, are found tlie initials 
"R. A." 

The publication of this Bible was not a finan- 
cial success. It had to compete with imported 
Bibles that could be sold cheaper, because the 
cost of printing was less. Moreover, the book 
was a small one and did not compare with larger 
Bibles as a specimen of the printer's art. Mr. 
Aitken seems to have been seriously embar- 
rassed by his undertaking, and had the sympa- 
thy of good people, who regretted the loss to 
which he was subjected. At a Synod of Pres- 
byterians, held in Philadelphia on the 24th of 
May, 1783, it was " Resolved, As Mr. Aitken, 
from laudable motives, and with great expense, 
hath undertaken and executed an elegant 
impression of the Holy Scriptures, which, on 
account of the importation of Bibles from Eng- 
land, will be very injurious to his temporal cir- 
cumstances, the Synod agree that the committee 
to purchase Bibles for distribution among the 
poor purchase Aitken's Bible and no other, and 
earnestly recommend it to all to purchase such 



THE AITKEN BIBLE. 67 

in preference to any other." The Aitken Bible 
is now the rarest of all early Bibles printed in 
America. It can be safely said that at the out- 
side there are not more than twenty-five copies 
in existence, and the number actually located 
.falls below this statement. The list of owners 
is a very short one.^ It is only about once in a 
generation that a copy is offered for sale, and 
consequently it commands a high price. A few 
years ago, at the Washington sale, held in Phil- 
adelphia, the two volumes of this Bible brought 



The Aitken Bible should animate the inter- 
est of Americans, inasmuch as it was the first 
Bible printed in the English language in Amer- 
ica, and also because of the association of Con- 
gress with it. It is a part of our national his- 
tory, for which we should be grateful, because 
it sets forth the fact that the founders of this 
Republic were men who were not ashamed of 
the revealed Truth. The term "Bible Con- 
gress," applied to our law-makers in that day, 
whether intended in derision or otherwise, was 
1 Appendix G. 



68 EARLY BIBLES. 

an epithet of honor. Whatever in power, 
progress, and grandeur we have attained as a 
nation, we owe largelj'' to the respect and rever- 
ence which our fathers paid to the precious 
Word of God. 



THE FIRST DOUAY VERSION. 



Tbde first quarto edition of the Bible in Eng- 
lish printed in America was published in Phil- 
adelphia in 1790. It was the Douay version 
made from the Latin Vulgate. Proposals for 
printing this Bible by subscription were sent 
out in 1789 by Matthew Carey, a native of Ire- 
land, located at Philadelphia as printer. It was 
proposed to issue the book in forty-eight num- 
bers, delivered weekly at a cost of " six Spanish 
milled dollars " for the entire volume of 984 
pages. Only about three of the numbers were 
delivered, when certain changes were made. 
The plan of issuing the Bible in numbers was 
given up, and it was announced that it would be 
published in two volumes. The firm was also 
changed to Carey, Stewart & Co. As an induce- 

69 



70 EARLY BIBLES. 

ment, it was stated that, if the number of sub- 
scribers could be enlarged, the price would be 
reduced. At the head of the subscribers stood 
the name of Rt. Rev. John Carroll of Balti- 
more. The new firm made an appeal not only 
to the Roman Catholics of the United States, 
but to other bodies of Christians. The latter 
appeal is here quoted in full. It is addressed 
" To the Protestants in the United States." 



" We venture with some degree of confidence to solicit 
your patronage as well as that of the Eoman Catholics for 
the first edition of the Douay translation of the Vulgate 
Bible. 

Many of the most learned Protestant divines have pro- 
duced weighty objections to particular passages in the Com- 
mon Church of England translations of the Scriptures. That 
there are various important errors in it, is too well known 
to admit of controversy. The frequent demands for a new 
translation bear the strongest testimony to the truth of this 
observation ; it is therefore worthy the attention of every 
candid Protestant to consider whether a comparison of the 
present translation with his own would not enable him to 
detect most, if not all of them — and thus to remove from 
his mind those doubts and difficulties which are fatal to true 
religion. 

Liberal minded Protestants who glory in the influence of 
the benign sun of toleration will probably be happy in an 
opportunity of uniting their names with those of the Eoman 



THE FIRST DOUAY VERSION. 71 

Catholics who have supported this work — and thus evin- 
cing that they are superior to that wretched, that contempti- 
ble prejudice which confines its benevolence within the nar- 
row pale of one religious denomination, as is the case with 
bigots of every persuasion. From persons of the latter class 
we expect no patronage. To encourage a Popish Bible 
would in their eyes be an heinous offence. But we fondly 
hope, that there are few of this description here — that 
persons of the former character abound — and that our sub- 
scription list, by uniting together the names of members of 
various and hitherto hostile denominations of Christians, 
will afford one proof — among many that might be pro- 
duced — of the rapid advances that America has made in 
the divine principle of toleration. 

We are the public's devoted servants, 

Carey, Stewabt & Co. 

Philadelphia, Sept. 24, 1790." 



Towards the close of the year in which this 
appeal was issued the Douay Bible appeared; 
that is, December 1, 1790. The two volumes 
were bound in one. The type that was used 
was made especially for it, and was cast by the 
firm of Baine & Co. of Philadelphia. The books 
of third and fourth Maccabees, the third and 
fourth of Esdras, and the Prayer of Manasses, 
are omitted on the ground that "they have 
never been received by the Church." 



72 EARLY BIBLES. 

The Title-Page : — 

THE 

HOLY BIBLE, 

TEANSLATED FROM THE 
LATIN VTTLGATE : 

Diligently compared with the 

HEBBEW, GREEK, AND OTHER EDITIONS, 

In divers languages ; 

And first published by 
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE AT DOWAT,i ANNO 1609. 

Newly revised, and corrected according to 
THE CLEMENTINE EDITION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

•WITH ANNOTATIONS FOR ELUCIDATING 

The principal difficulties of Holy Writ. 

Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris. Isaiae 
XII. 3. 

PHILADELPHIA : 

Printed and sold by Carey, Stewart and Co. 

M.DCC.XC. 

The annotations are printed at the bottom of 
the pages. The list of subscribers is given, and 

1 This word is usually spelled "Douay," or "Douai," but 
the above spelling occurs on the title-pages of early American 
Bibles. 



THE FIRST DOUAY VERSION. 73 

extends from page 5 to 8. The New Testa- 
ment has no title-page. The end of the vol- 
ume is supplied with various tables; namely, 
" Table of References," " Chronological Table," 
" Order and Distribution of the Psalms," and a 
" Table of the Epistles and Gospels." 



THE THOMAS BIBLE. 



The first folio Bible and also the first royal 
quarto Bible in English published in America 
came from the press of Isaiah Thomas of 
"Worcester, Mass. The history of this publisher 
was that of a poor boy, starting in life with few 
advantages and a scanty education, but, by 
dint of industry, perseverance, and self-educa- 
tion, advancing step by step until he became 
one of the foremost citizens of the land. 

At six years of age young Thomas was 
apprenticed to Zechariah Fowle, a printer of 
Boston. The occupation was congenial to the 
lad, and he followed his calling through many 
years with enthusiasm. At eighteen years of 
age he left his employer, and worked at print- 
ing in Nova Scotia, New Hampshire, and South 
Carolina. In 1770 he returned to Boston, and, 

74 



THE THOMAS BIBLE. 75 

in partnership with his former master, started a 
newspaper known as The Massachusetts Spy. 
Three months later he became the sole proprie- 
tor of the paper, which he edited with ability 
and success. From a humble beginning with a 
few subscribers it grew to the largest circulation 
of any paper in Boston, and its influence was 
known and felt throughout the land. It had to 
take part in the conflict which was then raging 
between Great Britain and the colonies. At 
first it was independent; but later Thomas 
threw all his sympathies, energies, and influ- 
ence into the cause of the colonies. Just 
before the battle of Lexington the type and 
presses of The Spy were removed by night 
from Boston and taken to Worcester. There 
the publication of the paper was resumed, 
and the Provincial Government assisted Mr. 
Thomas by giving him the public printing. 
Worcester became the scene of his greatest 
activities ; for he engaged in printing, publish- 
ing, manufacturing, and editing. Paper for his 
publications was made in a mill that he oper- 



76 EARLY BIBLES. 

ated, and he also did his own binding. He 
entered largely into the importation of books, 
and at one time had nine book-stores in differ- 
ent cities. 

In 1786 he imported type for the printing of 
music, which was the first font of this kind to 
come to America. He did an extensive busi- 
ness in Boston under the firm name of Thomas 
& Andrews. In 1791 Mr. Thomas published 
two editions of the Bible at "Worcester, the one 
in folio and the other in royal quarto. A pros- 
pectus was sent out, detailing the advantages 
to subscribers. The Bible was to be printed in 
new type, " large, beautiful, and suited for the 
accommodation of the eyes of all, especially 
those of the aged and infirm." It promised 
that the paper " shall be fully equal in good- 
ness, if not a superior quality, to the" various 
English editions. 

The subscription price is named as "only 
seven dollars." As an indication of the scar- 
city of money at that time, the following from 
the prospectus is interesting : — 



THE THOMAS BIBLE. 11 

" To make payment easy to those who wish to be en- 
couragers of this laudable undertaking, and to be in posses- 
sion of so valuable property as a royal quarto Bible, and 
who are not able to pay for one all in cash, from such the 
publisher will receive one-half of the sum, or twenty-one 
shillings, in the following articles, viz., wheat, rye, Indian 
corn, butter, or pork, if delivered at his store in Worcester, 
or at the store of himself and company in Boston, by the 
twentieth day of December, 1790, the remaining sum of 
twenty-one shillings to be paid in cash, as soon as the books 
are ready for delivery. This proposal is made to accommo- 
date all, notwithstanding the sum of twenty-one shillings 
will by no means be the proportion of cash that each Bible 
bound will cost the pxiblisher." 

The booksellers of the United States are in- 
formed that, if they subscribe " for twelve or 
more copies in sheets," they " shall have them 
on full as generous terms as " English publish- 
ers supply books to the trade. " The reverend 
clergy " are also informed that " all who sub- 
scribe for twelve copies, or procure twelve 
copies to be subscribed for, and will be answer- 
able, and make payment for them agreeably to 
this proposal, shall be entitled to, and receive a 
thirteenth copy, handsomely bound, for their 
trouble." 

The two editions of the Thomas Bible 



78 EARLY BIBLES. 

appeared in December, 1791. The title-page 
of the folio reads — 

THE 
HOLY BIBLE, 

CONTAINING THE 

OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: 

with the 

APOCRYPHA. 

TBANSLATED 
OUT OF THE OBIGINAL, TONGUES, 

and 

WITH THE FORMER TRANSLATIONS DILIGENTLY 

COMPARED AND REVISED, 

BY THE SPECIAL COMMAND OF KING JAMES I. OF 

ENGLAND. 

trith an 
INDEX. 

APPOINTED TO BE READ IN CHURCHES. 
VOL. I. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

PRINTED AT THE PRESS IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, 

BY ISAIAH THOMAS. 

SOLD BY HIM IN WORCESTER; AND BY HIM AND COMPANY 

AT FAUST's STATUE, NO. 45, NEWBURY STREET, BOSTON 

M.DCC.XCI. 

The first and second pages are covered with 
" The printer's Address, To Christians of Every 



THE THOMAS BIBLE. 79 

Denomination." The third and part of the 
fourth pages, " To the Publick," and "Address 
of the Translators to King James." Then fol- 
low "Names and Order of Books." The text 
extends from Genesis to end of Proverbs, from 
page 5 to page 460, which closes the first vol- 
ume. The second begins with Ecclesiastes. 
The New Testament title-page reads — 

THE NEW 

TESTAMENT 

of 

OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR 

JESUS CHRIST, 

TRANSLATED 

OUT OF THE ORIGINAL GREEK, 

AND 

With the former Translations diligently compared and 
revised, 

BY THE SPECIAL COMMAND OF KING JAMES I. OF 
ENGLAND. 

Together with an 

INDEX 

to the 

HOLY BIBLE. 

APPOINTED TO BE READ IN CHURCHES. 



80 EARLY BIBLES. 

The second volume ends with " Tables of 
Weights, Measures, Coins, &c.," " Tables of 
Time, Offices, and Conditions," and " Table of 
Kindred." The two volumes cover 1,012 pages 
of printed matter. The Thomas Bible is illus- 
trated with fifty copper-plate engravings, which 
doubtless gave it additional value in the eyes of 
many. The frontispiece of the first volume 
illustrates the Triumph of the Gospel through- 
out the world. The frontispiece to the Apocry- 
pha is an emblematical representation of the 
Old and New Dispensations. The fifty copper- 
plates were executed by four artists and are 
signed. There are three woodcuts, — one be- 
fore the Book of Genesis, representing Adam and 
Eve ; a second before the Apocrypha, of Judith 
and Holofernes ; and the third before the New 
Testament, of the Crucifixion. This edition 
was usually bound in two volumes, though it is 
occasionally seen in one. 

The general title-page of the royal quarto 
Bible is worded the same way as the folio, with 
the addition of these words : — 



THE THOMAS BIBLE. 81 

WITH 

MAKGINAL NOTES AND EEFERENCES. 

To -which are added an 
INDEX 
and an 

ALPHABETICAL TABLE 
OF ALL THE NAMES IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, 

with their significations. 

It differs in the body of the work from the 
folio in having parallel lines dividing the col- 
umns of the text. It lacks the three wood-cuts 
found in the other edition, and, as the title- 
page indicates, has notes, references, and index. 
Some copies were supplied with a Concordance. 
According to the publisher's announcement, it 
could be supplied to subscribers in three forms. 
The first was with forty-eight copper-plates and 
Concordance ; the second, without plates or Con- 
cordance ; and the third, with the Concordance. 
The book was published in two volumes. 

The two Thomas Bibles of 1791 were with- 
out doubt far in advance of any other publica- 
tions of the same kind that had appeared in 
America in point of typography, excellence of 



82 EARLY BIBLES. 

paper, binding, and general execution. Benja- 
min Franklin, an expert in printing, paid a high 
compliment to Thomas when he said, " He is 
the Baskerville of America." 

The Thomas Bible appeared fifteen years 
after the Declaration of Independence. What 
the publisher says in the preface, or Address, 
of the prospects and hopes of the young Repub- 
lic is worth reading. He writes, — 

" The general state of our country must afford satisfac- 
tion to every benevolent mind. Evidences of increasing 
prosperity present themselves on every side to our view. 
Abroad, our national character is rising to dignity and emi- 
nence; at home, confidence is established in our government, 
the spirit of patriotism appears to be the actuating principle 
with the distinguished characters of our age, and the great- 
est exertions are making for the public good. The civil and 
religious rights of men are generally understood, and by all 
enjoyed. The sciences which open to the minds of men a 
view of the works and ways of God, and the arts which 
tend to the support, the convenience, and the ornament of 
society, begin to receive proper encouragement from the ad- 
ministration of state and national governments, and by the 
application and enterprise of individuals are approaching to 
excellence and perfection. The means of a good education 
are daily becoming more general ; and the present spirit of 
industry and economy, which pervades all classes of men, 
furnishes the brightest prospects of future prosperity and 
welfare. While a general solicitude prevails to encourage 
the arts and to promote national honor, dignity, and happi- 



THE THOMAS BIBLE. 83 

ness, can any be indifferent to those improvements which, 
are necessary to secure to all the free and independent exer- 
cise of the Rights of Conscience? The civil authority hath 
set an example of moderation and candor to all Christians, 
by securing equal privileges to all; and it must be their ar- 
dent and united wish, independently of foreign aid, to be 
supplied with copies of the Sacred Scriptures — the founda- 
tion of their religion — a religion which furnishes motives 
to the faithful performance of every patriotic, civil, and 
social duty, superior to the temptations of ambition, avarice, 
and selfishness; which opens prospects to the human mind 
that will be realized when the relation to civil govern- 
ment shall be dissolved, and which will raise its real disciples 
to their highest glory and happiness when the monuments 
of human genius, art, and enterprise shall be lost in the 
general dissolution of nature." 

An octavo edition of the Bible was published 
by Mr. Thomas in 1790, and another in 1802. 
The duodecimo, or Thomas "standing," edition 
was issued in 1797. On the title-page our coun- 
try is spoken of as " The United States of 
Columbia." The same book reappeared with 
fresh dates in 1798 and 1799. 

In 1802 Mr. Thomas retired from active busi- 
ness and left his printing and publishing inter- 
ests in the hands of his son. The remainder 
of his life was devoted mainly to literary pur- 
suits and to collecting a library. There was 



84 EARLY BIBLES. 

published in 1810 his " History of Printing in 
America," in two volumes. It is a carefully 
prepared work, and preserves many interesting 
facts that marked the early history of this land. 
In 1812 he and a few others founded the 
American Antiquarian Society of Worcester. 
He was elected president, and continued to be 
re-elected each year until his death. He donated 
eight thousand books to the library of the soci- 
ety, and gave ten thousand dollars to building 
a hall. His entire benefactions in this one 
direction reached fifty thousand dollars. As a 
recogiiition of his services to his country, and his 
advancement of literature, the degree of M.A. 
was conferred upon him by Dartmouth College 
and that of LL.D. by Allegheny College. The 
biographer of the eminent publisher says that 
when Washington visited Worcester in 1789 
he said to a nephew of Mr. Thomas : " Young 
man, your uncle has set you a bright example 
of patriotism ; and never forget that, next to our 
God, we owe our highest duty to our country." ^ 

1 B. F. Thomas's Memoir of Isaiah Thomas, p. 78. 



THE THOMAS BIBLE. 85 

The American Antiquarian Society, which was 
the object of so much interest to Dr. Thomas, 
has become one of the strongest institutions of 
the land. It has a new building with a library 
of ninety thousand volumes. It contains the 
noted Mather collection, and other Americana. 

The Society has a full set of the Thomas 
publications elegantly bound, and containing 
the library plate of the eminent editor and 
publisher. Harvard University has a copy of 
the folio Bible, which was presented by the 
printer. It contains in front a printed slip 
in an ornamented border, reading, " This Book, 
being one of the First edition of the Folio 
Bible printed in America, is the gift of the prin- 
ter, Isaiah Thomas, to Harvard College." 

The Thomas Bibles are not rare, and copies 
are found in nearly all of our older libraries. 



THE COLLINS BIBLE. 



The first Bible printed in the State of New 
Jersey came from the press of Isaac Collins at 
Trenton. He was born in New Castle County, 
Del., in 1746. He learned the printing trade, 
part of the time with James Adams of Wil- 
mington, Del., and completed it at Williams- 
burg, Va. When he was of age he went to 
Philadelphia and worked with several firms, 
and was regarded as an expert and superior 
workman. He removed to Burlington, N. J., 
in 1770, when his business ability secured him 
the position of public printer. In 1777 he 
became editor of a weekly paper known as 
The New Jersey Crazette. It was said of him 
that " he carefully avoided publishing any- 
thing which tended to injure the religious, civil, 
86 



THE COLLINS BIBLE. 87. 

or political interests of his fellow-citizens." 
Later he removed his business to Trenton, 
where in 1788 he published an edition of the 
New Testament. He issued in 1789 proposals 
for publishing a quarto Bible " with the Apoc- 
rypha and marginal notes." The book was to 
be " in one large volume of nine hundred and 
eighty-four pages." The price named to sub- 
scribers was " four Spanish dollars." As one 
of the inducements, it was stated that " Down- 
ame's Concordance, which is annexed to Eyre 
and Strahan's London quarto edition of 1772, 
will be added, without further expense to the 
subscribers." 

Mr. Collins presented his proposals to the 
various bodies of Christians, and solicited their 
encouragement and support. The first to take 
action were the Friends. The minutes of a 
meeting held in Philadelphia in 1789 show that 
the proposed Bible was indorsed in these 
words : — 

" This undertaking being a matter of very interesting 
concernment, and such an edition as therein proposed ap- 



88 EARLY BIBLES. 

pearing likely to be useful and much wanted, on a deliberate 
and weighty attention to these considerations, it is the 
united sense of the meeting, that it be recommended to the 
quarterly and monthly meetings of Friends to encourage 
the work, by appointing committees to procure subscriptions 
agreeably to the tenor of said proposals, and forwarding to 
this meeting lists of the subscriptions obtained as early as 
may be, in order that a suitable appointment may be made 
for the assistance of the printer in attending to the correct- 
ness of the work." 



Mr. Collins was a member of the Society of 
Friends. "He received," says Thomas, "much 
assistance from the Quakers in printing the 
Bible, particularly from those in Philadelphia, 
New Jersey, and New York." 

At a meeting of the Presbyterian General 
Assembly, held in Philadelphia, May 25, 1789, 
a resolution was passed "that a person or per- 
sons be appointed in every congregation, vacant 
or supplied, to procure subscriptions " for Col- 
lins's Bible. Rev. John Witherspoon, D.D., 
and two others were appointed to help " revise 
and correct the proof-sheets." It was also 
recommended that " Gstervald's Notes " be 
added to the Bible. 



THE COLLINS BIBLE. 89 

At a meeting of the Baptist Association, held 
in the same year and city, the proposals were 
indorsed, but with a condition. The members 
of the committee appointed to assist in correct- 
ing the proof-sheets were " ordered to use their 
influence to prevent the Apocrypha or any 
notes of any kind being printed and included 
in said edition, as having a dangerous tendency 
to corrupt the simplicity and truth of the 
sacred Scriptures, by being thus intimately 
associated with them." 

At the Convention of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church in May, 1789, held at Philadelphia, 
it was resolved " that the members of this Con- 
vention will assist Mr. Collins in the procuring 
of subscriptions." 

The work having received the requisite sup- 
port, the Bible was issued from the Collins 
press in Trenton in the year 1791. The edition 
consisted of five thousand copies. 

The title-page reads — 



90 EARLY BIBLES. 

THE 

HOLY BIBLE, 

CONTAINING THE 

OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: 

TRANSLATED OUT OF THE 

ORIGINAL TONGUES : 
and with the former translations 

DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED. 

TRENTON : 

PRINTED AND SOLD BY ISAAC COLLINS. 

M.DCC.XCL 

In deference to the Baptists some copies 
were printed without the Apocrypha and 
" Ostervald's Notes." An address to the 
readers by Rev. Dr. Witherspoon was substi- 
tuted for the dedication to King James. The 
Bible was printed with great care, as the proof- 
sheets were read over eleven times before the 
final impression was made. In 1793 Mr. Col- 
lins printed a Bible in octavo. He removed his 
business in 1796 to New York City. 



THE FIRST TRANSLATION FROM THE 
SEPTUAGINT. 



In the year 1808, the press of Jane Aitken of 
Philadelphia gave to the world a version of the 
Bible that indicated a high order of scholarship. 
It came from the pen of Charles Thomson, and 
was the first translation in America of the 
Septuagint into English. It was issued in four 
octavo volumes. Watson, in his " Annals of 
Philadelphia," says of Thomson : ^ " He told me 
that he was first induced to study Greek from 
having bought a part of the Septuagint at an 
auction in this city. He had bought it for a 
mere trifle, and without knowing what it was, 
save that the crier said it was outlandish letters. 
When he had mastered it enough to understand 
it, his anxiety became great to see the whole ; 
but he could find no copy. Strange to tell, in 
the interval of two years, passing the same store, 

1 "Watson's " Annals of Philadelphia," 1850, vol. i., p. 568. 
91 



92 EARLY BIBLES. 

and chancing to look in, lie then saw the re- 
mainder actually crying off for a few pence, and 
he bought it. I used to tell him that the trans- 
lation which he afterwards made should have 
had these facts set at the front of the work as a 
preface ; for that great work, the first of the 
kind in the English language, strangely enough, 
was ushered into the world without any preface." 
The title-page reads : — 

THE 

HOLY BIBLE, 

CONTAINING 

THE OLD AND NEW COVENANT, 

commonly called 

The Old and New Testament: 

translated 

feom the greek 

BY CHAELES THOMSON, 

Late Secretary to the Congress of the United States. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

FEINTED BY JANE AITKEN, 

NO. 71 NORTH THIRD 8TBEET. 
1808. 

4 vols. 



TRANSLATION FROM SEPTUAGINT. 93 

This version received the enthusiastic ap- 
proval of scholars at the time it was published, 
and has continued to be valued for its vigor and 
perspicuity. Orme speaks of it in commendable 
terms in his " Bibliotheca Bibliac " of 1824, and 
Home follows in like terms in his "Manual 
of Biblical Bibliography," published in 1839. 
As the years have gone by Thomson's transla- 
tion has not lost its place in the minds of criti- 
cal Biblical students. As one evidence of this, 
it need only be stated that it was consulted 
by the Revision Committee in their version of 
1881. 

Charles Thomson was born at Maghera, Ire- 
land, on Nov. 29, 1729. He and his father 
sailed for America in 1741, but the father died 
at sea, and the son landed at New Castle, Dela- 
ware. In the war with Great Britain, Thom- 
son gave his sympathy and influence to the 
side of the colonies. At the organization of the 
Continental Congress at Philadelphia, in 1774, 
Thomson was elected Secretary by a unaminous 
vote. He declined to receive pay for his first 



94 EARLY BIBLES. 

year of service to Congress, and that body, in 
recognition of his patriotism, presented a silver 
urn to his wife, who was a sister of Benjamin 
Harrison of Virginia, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. Thomson filled 
other positions of honor and responsibility, and 
was appointed to announce to Washington his 
election as President of the United States. 
Each year Thomson was re-elected as Secretary, 
up to 1789, when he retired for the purpose 
of devoting himself to Biblical study. Such 
cases are rare, of men giving up honorable pub- 
lic positions for the sake of mental pursuits. 
His retirement was regretted by Washington and 
his associates. Thomson was greatly esteemed 
for his nobility of character, and especially for 
his veracity. The Delaware Indians, with whom 
he was commissioned to treat, called him " The 
Man of Truth." He died in 1824, at Lower 
Merion, Montgomery County, Penn. His resi- 
dence for many years was at Bryn Mawr, in the 
same State. His house is still standing, and the 
room is shown which was used as his library 



TRANSLATION FROM SEPTUAGINT 95 

when he wrote his translation of the Bible. 
The original manuscript is in the possession of 
Allegheny College, and three note-books in 
Thomson's handwriting, containing suggestions 
and alterations concerning his translations, are 
in the library of the Pennsylvania Historical 
Society. His own copy of the Bible, with the 
manuscript notes in the margins, is the prop- 
erty of the Library Company of Philadelphia. 

The strong translation that Thomson gave us 
was the result of long years of patient investi- 
gation, persistent study, and an intense love for 
his work. 

Mr. Albert J. Edwards says, " Thomson's trans- 
lation is notable for its sound erudition and 
scholarly care, but also for its singular freedom 
from traditional renderings. Wherever it was 
possible to translate a theological term with 
breadth and freshness it was done, but only 
where an honest latitude was allowed by the 
original." He also adds, " It seems to me that 
a version of such sterling worth ought not to be 
left languishing on the shelves of old book- 



96 EARLY BIBLES. 

stores, to be bought as a bibliographical curi- 
osity, as it now has too long been, but should 
be taken up by a good publisher and re-edited 
with care. Neither Roman nor Genevan, 
neither High Church nor Low, of no sect and 
of no prejudice, whether of unbelief or of over- 
belief, this American patriot of the Continental 
Congress, who lived to be ninety-four and 
spent a glorious old age in his home near Bryn 
Mawr, translating the records of our faith, 
ought to stand among us once more in the form 
of a newer and more accessible edition of his 
great work, the Old and New Covenants." ^ 

In 1815 Mr. Thomson published at Philadel- 
phia a work bearing the title of " A Synopsis 
of the Four Evangelists, or a Regular History 
of the Conception, Birth, Doctrine, Miracles, 
Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus 
Christ in the Words of the Evangelists." Wil- 
liam McCullogh was the printer. 

1 Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Octo- 
ber number, 1891, p. 335. 



THE FIRST TRANSLATION FROM THE 
PESHITO SYRIAC VERSION. 



Among the oldest versions of the Old and 
New Testaments is the Peshito Syriac, the word 
Peshito meaning "simple," probably in refer- 
ence to its simplicity of style. There is no 
doubt concerning the antiquity of this version, 
but there is a wide range of opinion as to its 
exact date. Home, in his Introduction, says, 
" Bishop Walton, Carpzov, Leusden, Bishop 
Lowth, and Dr. Kennicott fix its date to the 
first century ; Bauer and some other German 
writers, to the second or third century; Jahn 
fixes it, at the least, to the second century ; De 
Rossi pronounces it to be very ancient, but does 
not specify any precise date. The most prob- 
able opinion is that of Michaelis, who ascribes 
97 



98 EARLY BIBLES. 

the Syriac version of both Testaments to the 
close of the first, or to the earlier part of 
the second century, at which time the Syrian 
churches flourished most, and the Christians 
at Edessa had a temple for divine worship 
erected after the model of that at Jerusalem, 
and it is not to be supposed that they would be 
without a version of the Old Testament, the 
reading of which had been introduced by the 
Apostles." ^ 

While the date has not been fixed, it can be said 
that the Peshito was an old version even in the 
time of Ephraim the Syrian, who died in 373. Of 
the authorship of the version nothing is known, 
though it is evident that it came from many 
hands. From certain resemblances to the Sep- 
tuagint, it is thought that Jewish converts had 
much to do with this version. Of the place where 
it was written nothing can be said definitely, 
though it has been conjectured that it may have 
been written at Antioch or Edessa. The ver- 
sions known as the Philoxenian and Hierosoly- 

1 Home's Introduction, vol. i., p. 270. 



PESHITO SYRIA C VERSION. 99 

mitian are of later date and of little value com- 
pared with the Peshito New Testament. The 
latter holds a high place among scholars, as it 
helps to clear up some passages of the Greek 
Testament. 

The first edition of the Peshito New Testa- 
ment was printed in Vienna in 1555, under the 
patronage of the Emperor of Austria, and was 
designed for the use of the Jacobite Christians 
of the East. In later years other editions were 
printed in Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, and 
England. In some cases the Testaments were 
printed in Syriac and Latin, or in Syriac and 
Hebrew. In 1816 the British and Foreign 
Bible Society published an edition in the Syriac 
alone, which was intended for missionary use in 
India. 

The first translation in Great Britain, of the 
Peshito New Testament into English, was made 
in 1846, by J. W. Etheridge, who published 
the Four Gospels. The first translation of the 
Peshito New Testament in the United States 
came from the pen of the Rev. James Murdock, 



100 EARLY BIBLES. 

D.D., in 1851. The title-page of the book is as 
follows : — 

THE 

NEW TESTAMENT ; 

OK, 

THE BOOK OF THE HOLY GOSPEL 

OF OUR LORD AND OUR GOD, 
JESUS THE MESSIAH. 

A LITERAL TRANSLATION FROM THE SYRIAC PESHITO 
VERSION. 

BY JAMES MUKDOCK, D.D. 

NEW YORK : 

PUBLISHED BY STANFORD AND SWORDS, 

NO. 137 BROADWAY. 
1851. 

Dr. Murdock says in the Preface : " In this 
translation the Books of the New Testament are 
divided into Paragraphs, according to the sense ; 
just as in Campbell's translation of the Four Gos- 
pels, and in the Greek Testaments of Bengel, 
Griesbach, Knapp, and others. The common 
divisions into Chapters and Verses are noted 
in the margin, and the Verses are also put in 
parentheses in the middle of the lines. For the 



PESHITO SYRIAC VERSION. 101 

benefit of those who have some knowledge of the 
Syriac language, the more important words are 
frequently placed in the side margin, with refer- 
ences to the corresponding words in the transla- 
tion. Deviations of the Syriac text from the 
Greek, and also the susceptibilities of the Syriac 
words, or phrases, of a different rendering from 
that in the text, are likewise indicated in the side 
margin. The foot margin is reserved for occa- 
sional comments and critical observations." 

The book is an octavo, and the text covers 471 
pages. The author tells us he " commenced his 
translation early in August, 1845, and completed 
it on the 16th of June, 1846." 

Dr. Murdock was born in Westbrook, Conn., 
Feb. 16, 1776. He was graduated at Yale Col- 
lege in 1797. In 1815 he was made Professor 
of Ancient Languages in the University of Ver- 
mont, and four years later was called to the 
chair of Sacred Rhetoric and Ecclesiastical His- 
tory in Andover Theological Seminary. In 1829 
he made New Haven his home, and engaged in 
literary work. He died at Columbus, Miss., in 



102 EARLY BIBLES. 

1856. He translated a n-umber of works from 
the German, and was well known as a linguistic 
scholar. His translation of the Peshito New 
Testament is considered a faithful rendering 
from the Syriac. 



CURIOUS VERSIONS. 



The crank has invaded every department of 
literature, and has even tried his hand at the 
Biblical. Men of strong prejudices, narrow- or 
broad-gauge views, and possessed with a hobby, 
have sought to color Scripture according to 
their own opinions, and with little deference to 
the original sense of the languages of Holy 
Writ. Some scholars who have been strong in 
other directions, have exhibited their weakness 
when dealing with the words of Inspiration. 
As a result, they have brought upon themselves 
confusion and ridicule. Franklin was in many 
ways a great man, but he published his own 
foolishness when he attempted to improve the 
meaning of the Bible. Among his " Baga- 
telles," which Mr. William Temple Franklin 

103 



104 



EARLY BIBLES. 



says " were chiefly written by Dr. Franklin for 
the amusement of his intimate society in Lon- 
don and Paris, and were actually collected in a 
small portfolio endorsed as above," appears the 
following letter : — 

PROPOSED NEW VERSION OF THE BIBLE. 

To the Printer of 

Sir, — It is now more than one hundred and seventy 
years since the translation of our common English Bible. 
The language in that time is much changed, and the style, 
being obsolete, and thence less agreeable, is perhaps one 
reason why the reading of that excellent book is of late so 
much neglected. I have therefore thought it would be well 
to procure a new version, in which, preserving the sense, 
the turn of phrase and manner of expression should be 
modern. I do not pretend to have the necessary abilities 
for such a work myself : I throw out the hint for the con- 
sideration of the learned ; and only venture to send you a 
few verses of the first chapter of Job, which may serve as 
the sample of the kind of version I would recommend. 

A. B. 



Old Text. 

Verse 6. Now there was a day 
when the sons of God came to pre- 
sent themselves before the Lord, 
and Satan came also among them. 



New Version. 

Verse 6. And it being levee 
day in Heaven, all God's nobility 
came to court to present them- 
selves before htm; and Satan also 
appeared in the circle as one of 
the ministry. 



CURIOUS VERSIONS. 



105 



Old Text. 

7. And the Lord said unto 
Satan, Whence comest thou? 
Then Satan answered the Lord 
and said, From going to and fro 
in the earth, and from walking up 
and down in it. 

8. And the Lord said unto 
Satan, Hast thou considered my 
servant Job, that there is none 
like him in the earth, a perfect 
and an upright man, one thatfear- 
eth God and escheweth evil? 

9. Then Satan answered the 
Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God 
for nought? 

10. Hast not thou made an 
hedge about him, and about his 
house, and about all that he hath 
on every side? Thou hast blessed 
the work of his hands, and his 
substance is increased in the land. 

11. But put forth thine hand 
now, and touch all that he hath, 
and he will curse thee to thy face. 



New Version. 

7. And God said unto Satan, 
You have been some time absent; 
where were you? And Satan an- 
swered, I have been at my country 
seat, and in different places visit- 
ing my friends. 

8. And God said, Well, what 
think you of Lord Job? You see 
he is my best friend, a perfectly 
honest man, fuU of respect for 
me, and avoiding everything that 
might offend me. 

9. And Satan answered. Does 
your majesty imagine that his 
good conduct is the effect of per- 
sonal attachment and affection? 

10. Have you not protected 
him and heaped your benefits 
upon him, till he is grown enor- 
mously rich? 

11. Try him; — only withdraw 
your favor, turn him out of his 
places, and withhold his pensions, 
and you wiU soon find him in the 
opposition. 



Mr. McMasters, in his recent life of Franklin 
as a man of letters, says,^ — 



" In uo book, it is safe to say, are the force and beauty of 
the English tongue so finely shown as in King James's 
Bible. But on Franklin that force and beauty were wholly 
lost. The language he pronounced obsolete. The style he 
thought not agreeable, and he was for a new rendering, in 

1 McMasters, Benjamin Franklin : American Men of Letters 
Series, pp. 87, 88. 



106 EARLY BIBLES. 

which the turn of phrase and manner of expression should 
be modern. That there might be no mistake as to his 
meaning, he gave a sample of how the work should be done; 
took some verses from the first chapter of Job, stripped 
them of every particle of grace, beauty, imagery, terseness, 
and strength, and wrote a paraphrase, which of all para- 
phrases of the Bible is surely the worst. 

" The plan is beneath criticism. Were such a piece of 
folly ever begun there would remain but one other depth 
of folly to which it would be possible to go down. Franklin 
proposed to fit out the Kingdom of Heaven with lords, 
nobles, a ministry, and levee days. It would, on the same 
principle, be proper to make another version suitable for 
republics; a version from which every term and expression 
peculiar to a monarchy should be carefully kept out, and 
only such as are applicable to a republic be put in." 

In 1776 Kneeland & Adams of Boston 
printed a translation of the Gospel of St. Mat- 
thew, made by the Rev. Samuel Mather, in 
which the Lord's Prayer has this curious 
rendering : — 

" Our Father, who art in the Heavens, sanctified be Thy 
Xame ; Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, as in Heaven, 
so upon the Earth ; Give us to-day that our bread, the super- 
substantial ; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive them 
who are our debtors; and introduce us not into afflictive 
trial, but deliver us from the Wicked One, because thine is 
the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for the ages. 
Amen." 



CURIOUS VERSIONS. 107 

Lilly, Wait, Coleman, & Holden of Boston 
printed in 1833 what claimed to be " A New 
and Corrected Version of the New Testament." 
It was edited by Rev. Rodolphus Dickinson, 
"Rector of St. Paul's Parish, District of Pendle- 
ton, South Carolina." The American Monthly 
Review for March, 1833, says, "Apart from 
its literary execution, this professed translation 
has no distinctive character; and as the author 
— in his preface — places his chief reliance on 
the rhetorical embellishments with which he has 
adorned the sacred text, we are constrained to 
award a verdict of unqualified condemnation." 

The reckless and freehanded nature of the 
translation may be judged by the quotations 
that follow : — 



John iil. 3. " Except a man be reproduced, he cannot 
realize the reign of God. 

4. Nicodemus says to him, How can a man be pro- 
duced when he is matured ? Can he again pass into a state 
of embryo and be produced ? " 

Acts i. 18. " And (Judas) falling prostrate, a violent 
internal spasm ensued, and all his viscera were emitted." 

xxvi. 24. " Festus declared with a loud voice, Paul, you 
are insane ! Multiplied research drives you to distraction." 



108 EARLY BIBLES. 

In 1852 Henry Olipliant, of Auburn, New 
York, printed a portion of the New Testament 
for Hezekiah Woodruff, who desired to render 
the words of Scripture after the language of 
our day. Here are a few examples of his 
efforts, with the original spellings : — 

St. Matthew iii. 4. " His food was small animals aud 
vegitable honey. 

6. Happy are they who hunger and thirst for correct- 
ness. 

20. Unless your correctness should exceed the correct- 
ness of the clergy." 

xxvi. 24. " The Son-of-man maketh his exit. 

49. Immediately he [Judas] came to the Saviour and 
said, Your most obedient, Preceptor." 

It is a relief to know that this book ended 
with the Gospel of St. Matthew. 

At various times editions of the New Testa- 
ment have appeared which were translated in 
the interests of certain sectarian bodies. In 
1849 Joshua V. Himes of Boston published a 
" Millerite " New Testament. In 1850 a New 
Testament was printed by a New York firm, in 
which these words were placed upon the title- 



CURIOUS VERSIONS. 109 

page, " Dictated by the Spirit." The editor 
was a Spiritualist. 

A version of the New Testament was printed 
in Boston by Thomas D. Wait & Co., in 1809, 
to advance the views of Socinianism. The 
title-page contains this remarkable specimen of 
the English language : " No offence can justly be 
taken for this new labor ; nothing prejudicing 
any other man's judgment by this doing ; nor 
yet professing this so absolute a translation, as 
that hereafter might follow no other who might 
see that which as yet was not understood." 

The title-pages of some early American Bibles 
contain curious expressions. What were known 
as " Hieroglyphical Bibles " were common in 
those days. On the title-pages of several editions 
are these words, " For the instruction and amuse- 
ment of children." John C. Ricker of New 
York printed in 1833 an edition of the New 
Testament containing this line on the title-page, 
" With numerous engravings, and the sterling 
currency reduced to dollars and cents." 

The editor of a Bible printed in Philadelphia 



110 EARLY BIBLES. 

in 1825 speaks on the title-page of the work, 
liberally supplied with notes, as " A Complete 
Library of Divinity." 

Serious errors in the printing of American 
Bibles are not very numerous, considering the 
large editions of the Scriptures that have been 
issued. There is a curious mistake in Eliot's 
Indian Bible in the account of the ten virgins. 
Dr. Trumbull says, " Among the Indians chas- 
tity was a masculine virtue, and Eliot's Natick 
interpreter did not understand that the noun 
wanted was feminine. Subsequent instruction 
doubtless made the matter clear, but in the 
Indian Bible the parable in Matthew xxv. 1-12 is 
of ' the ten chaste young men ' (piukqussuogpen- 
ompaog, — the syllable omp marking the mascu- 
line gender), and so in every place in which 
' virgin ' occurs in the English version, though 
in most cases the context clearly establishes the 
true gender. The right word was keegsquau, 
which is to be found (though seldom used) in 
every Algonkin language." 

An edition of the New Testament published 



CURIOUS VERSIONS. Ill 

at Utica, N.Y., in 1829, rendered James v. 17, 
" Elias was a man possible like unto us." 

A Bible published at Hartford in 1837 printed 
2 Timothy iii. 16 in this way, " All Scripture is 
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
destruction in righteousness." 

An edition of the Bible printed by the Ameri- 
can Bible Society in 1855 has this reading of St. 
Mark v. 3, " Who had his dwelling among the 
lambs," in place of " tombs." 

In one of the early editions of the Bible 
printed by Harding of Philadelphia a singular 
mistake was made in 1 Kings i. 21, where the 
words "the king shall f sleep with his fathers," 
was rendered in print, " the king shall dagger 
sleep with his fathers." This is certainly the 
most literal following of " copy " on record. 



EARLY EDITIONS OF THE GREEK 
TESTAMENT. 



The first edition of the New Testament in 
Greek, published in the United States, came from 
the press of Isaiah Thomas, Jr., at Worcester, 
Mass., in the year 1800. It is in size a 12mo and 
bound in calf. It contains on the second page a 
chronological list of the books of the New Tes- 
tament, and at the end this note : " The above 
Table has been carefully and faithfully collected 
from the writings of the famous Rev. Nathaniel 
Lardner, D.D." This note is followed by the 
name of " Caleb Alexander " as editor. Al- 
though the title-page states that the book fol- 
lows the reading of Mill, it is apparent that the 
editor draws freely from other editions, and 
especially the Elzevir text of 1678. 

An edition of the New Testament in Greek 
and Latin arranged in parallel columns appeared 

112 



H K AIM M 



NOV U 



TESTAMENTUM. 

JUXTA EXEMPLAR JOANNIS MILLIl AC^ 
CURATISSIME IMPRESSUM, 




EDJTIO PRIMA AUmiCAm, 



WIGORNI^il, Massachvsettenji ? 

Exciidebat ISAIAS THOMAS, Ju>?, 



Fac-simile of the title page of the first Greek Testament printed in America. 
Exact size. 



EDITIONS OF GREEK TESTAMENT. 113 

in Philadelphia in 1806. It was edited by 
John Watts, and printed by S. F. Bradford. 
Another edition by the same printer was issued 
under like date, wholly in Greek. 

Two volumes of the Greek Testament in 
octavo, covering in all 890 pages, were pub- 
lished in 1809, at Cambridge, dedicated to the 
President and Fellows of Harvard College. 
The text is after Griesbach, though a selection 
is given of various readings. There are also 
observations by W. Wells and W. Hilliard. 

Isaiah Thomas, Jr., issued another edition of 
the Greek Testament in 1814, but the place of 
printing was Boston, not Worcester. 

The title-page differed from that of 1800 in 
the central ornament, which consists of two 
reclining figures supporting an open Bible, with 
a Greek motto from 1 Cor. xv. 22. The text 
is the same as in the first edition. 

George Long, 71 Pearl Street, New York, 
published in 1821 a 12mo New Testament in 
Greek which followed the rendering of Leus- 
den, covering 699 pages. 



114 EARLY BIBLES. 

Rev. Abner Kneeland, a Universalist minister, 
edited the New Testament in Greek and Eng- 
lish in 1822, William Fry of Philadelphia being 
the printer. In the same year the Testament 
solely in Greek was issued by the same editor. 
Kneeland went through varied experiences in 
his religious opinions. Beginning as a Baptist 
minister, he then became a Universalist, and 
ended as a Deist. While editor of the Investi- 
gator he was tried by the Supreme Court of 
Massachusetts for blasphemy. 

In 1822 Oliver D. Cooke & Sons of Hart- 
ford, Conn., published a 12mo Greek Testament 
which was edited by Dr. P. Wilson of Columbia 
College, other issues appearing in 1825, 1827, 
and 1829. After this date various editions of 
Wilson's Testament were published in Phila- 
delphia for a number of years. 

In 1837 an important and since widely known 
edition of the Greek Testament in two volumes 
was issued in the United States, with the im- 
print of the following publishers : Boston : 
Perkins & Marvin; Philadelphia: Henry Per- 



EDITIONS OF GREEK TESTAMENT. 115 

kins. 1837. This Testament was edited by 
Rev. Dr. Bloomfield, and is a reprint of tlie 
second London edition. The scope and scholar- 
ship of the work are indicated by the title-page, 
where it is stated that the book contains " Eng- 
lish notes, critical, philological, and exegetical, 
partly selected and arranged from the best com- 
mentators, ancient and modern, but chiefly ori- 
ginal. The whole being specially adapted to 
the use of academical students, candidates for 
the sacred office, and Ministers, though also 
intended as a manual edition for the use of 
theological readers in general." In the preface 
Dr. Bloomfield says, " The text has been formed 
after long and repeated examinations of the 
whole of the New Testament for that purpose 
solely, on the basis of the last edition of R. 
Stephens, adopted by Mill, whose text differs 
very slightly from, but is admitted to be prefer- 
able to, the common text, which originated in 
the Elzevir edition of 1624. From this there 
has been no deviation, except on the most 
preponderating evidence, critical conjecture 



116 EARLY BIBLES. 

being wholly excluded, and sucli alterations 
only introduced as rest on the united authority 
of MSS., ancient versions and Fathers, and the 
early printed editions, but especially upon the 
invaluable Editio Princeps ; and which had 
been already adopted in one or more of the 
critical editions of Bengel, Wetstein, Gries- 
bach, Matthoei, and Scholz." The American 
edition of Dr. Bloomfield's work also contains 
a preface by Professor Stuart of Andover 
Theological Seminary, dated Oct. 1, 1836. 
The two volumes include 1261 pages of printed 
matter. 

This book went through many editions, some 
claiming as high as fourteen, but was finally 
superseded by other and better texts, especially 
those of Ellicott and Alford. 

In 1838 an American reprint of the Poly- 
micrian Greek Testament was issued in Phila- 
delphia by Henry Perkins, Joseph P. Engles, 
A.M., being the editor. On one of the first 
pages of this book the words " The New Testa- 
ment" are printed in forty-eight different Ian- 



EDITIONS OF GREEK TESTAMENT. 117 

guages, and on another page is the significant 
line, " Earth speaks with many tongues, 
Heaven knows but one." The honored and 
saintly Dr. W. A. Muhlenberg has said that 
he owed to Engles, the editor of this work, 
more of his success in life than to any other 
man. The Polymicrian Greek Testament was 
first published in England in 1829, with a 
lexicon prepared by William Greenfield. This 
lexicon was published in America in the year 
1839, revised by Engles, and after that date was 
usually bound with the American reprint of the 
Polymicrian. Its editor, William Greenfield, 
began his business life in a bindery, and early 
displayed a marvellous aptitude for the acquisi- 
tion of languages. His attainments were so 
great that he was employed by the British and 
Foreign Bible Society in editing the books they 
published in many tongues. Mr. Greenfield 
also edited Bagster's Comprehensive Bible, 
which was printed in England in 1827, and 
reprinted in Philadelphia in 1854, his brilliant 
career being cut short by death at the age of 
thirty-two. 



118 EARLY BIBLES. 

In 1842 Dr. Edward Robinson edited a Greek 
Testament in which he follows the text and 
annotations of Professor Hahn. The book is 
a 12mo, issued by Leavitt & Trow, New York, 
other editions appearing in 1845. 

In later years many editions of the Greek 
Testament have been issued by leading publish- 
ers in the United States, but it does not fall 
within the province of this book to speak of 
these recent volumes. Suffice it to say, that 
fifty-two editions of the whole New Testament 
in Greek were printed during the first half of 
this century, some in Greek alone, some in 
both Greek and English, or Greek and Latin, 
besides several editions of parts of the New 
Testament. The first copy of the New Testa- 
ment in modern Greek, printed in America, 
was published by the American Bible Society 
in 1833. 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 



The first proposal to print the Bible in 
English in America was made in 1688 by 
William Bradford of Philadelphia. The pub- 
lication that announced this intention was 
worded as follows : — 

" These are to give Notice, that it is proposed for a large 
house-Bible to be Printed by way of Subscriptions, [a 
method usual in England for the Printing of large Volumns, 
because Printing is very chargeable] therefore to all that are 
willing to forward so good (and great) a Work, as the 
Printing of the holy Bible, are offered these Proposals, viz. : 
1. That It shall be printed in a fair Character, on good Paper, 
and well bound. 2. That it shall contain the Old and New 
Testament, with the Apocraphy, and all to have laseful 
Marginal Notes. 3. That it shall be allowed (to them that 
subscribe) for Twenty Shillings per Bible : [A Price which 
one of the same volumn in England would cost]. 4. That 
the pay shall be half Silver Money, and half Country Pro- 
duce at Money price. One half down now, and the other 
half on the delivery of the Bibles. . . . Also, this may further 
give notice that Samuell Richardson and Samuell Carpenter 

119 



120 EARLY BIBLES. 

of Philadelphia, are appointed to take care and be assistant 
in the laying out of the Subscription Money, and to see that 
it be imploy'd to the use intended, and consequently 
that the whole Work be expedited. Which is promised by 

"William Bradford. 
" Philadelphia, the 14th of 
the 1st Month, 1688." 

Although this early effort began and ended 
with the Proposal, Philadelphia has been for 
many years a centre of activity and enterprise 
in the publication of many important editions 
of the Bible. 

After great persistence, Robert Aitken suc- 
ceeded in publishing his Bible of 1782, the 
first bearing an American imprint. After his 
death in 1802, his business was continued by 
his daughter, Jane Aitken, who seems to have 
inherited the energy of her father. She sus- 
tained the printing art through a number of 
years, and with acknowledged success. Thomas 
says, " She obtained much reputation by the 
productions which issued from her press." 

One of the most familiar names seen upon 
the title-pages of Philadelphia Bibles is that of 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 121 

Matthew Carey. He published not only editions 
of the Bible after the Latin Vulgate, but many 
quarto and duodecimo Bibles according to the 
King James translation. In the early days of 
his publishing career his work was attended 
with numerous risks and responsibilities. In 
the Preface to his Bible of 1801, he says : — 

" I present this edition of the Bible to the public, with a 
degree of solicitude proportioned to the magnitude of the 
undertaking. Having embarked therein a large property, 
and devoted my utmost care and attention to it, from its 
commencement to its completion, I find it impossible to 
assume that degree of stoicism necessary to regard with 
indifference its reception by my fellow-citizens." 

As the years rolled on his business prospered, 
and ultimately assumed extensive proportions. 
Bible after Bible issued from his presses, and 
many of the editions were embellished with 
engravings executed in the best style of the 
day. . 

Another name well known in the same locality 
was that of William Young. His first Bible 
was published in 1790 and was a 12mo in size. 
It was advertised as a school edition, and the 



122 EARLY BIBLES. 

price was named as " five-eighths of a dollar." 
It had this imprint : " Printed by W. Young, 
Bookseller and Stationer, the corner of Second 
and Chestnut Streets." He published another 
edition of the Bible in 1791, and a tljird in 1792. 
Copies of the New Testament appeared from his 
press in 1791, 1792, 1802, and 1808. 

Berriman & Co. were early publishers in 
Philadelphia. They issued a folio Bible in 
1796. It was supplied with marginal references, 
and had a list of subscribers. It contained eigh- 
teen engravings. Some time later they pub- 
lished another folio, but no date was placed 
upon the title-page. The later book was with- 
out engravings. 

The first hot-pressed edition of the Bible in 
America was published in 1798. It contained 
a patriotic device on the title-page, in which 
the Bible is encircled with fifteen stars, and 
supported by the American eagle. The imprint 
is as follows : " Printed for John Thompson and 
Abraham Small, from the Hot-press of John 
Thompson." This Bible follows the text of 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 123 

the Cambridge edition of Baskerville. The 
book was published by subscription, and went 
through forty numbers before it was completed. 
It contained the Apocrypha, which is printed 
throughout in italics. The price to sub- 
scribers, counting each number at fifty cents, 
was twenty dollars. The book in size is a 
folio. 

Kimber, Conrad & Co. 93 Market Street, 
later Kimber & Sharpless, were extensive pub- 
lishers of Bibles. Their first Bible was printed 
in 1807, and was liberally supplied with Canne's 
notes. In 1823 a quarto Bible was published, 
which they continued to reissue for twenty-one 
years, when the plates were sold to Jasper 
Harding. Their first edition of the Bible in 
German appeared in 1827, and its publication 
was continued through nearly a quarter of a 
century. 

Solomon Wiatt, 368 North Second Street, 
published in 1809 a 12mo New Testament, 
which was paid for by the gift of $1,000 left 
in the will of Mr. John Hancock of Burlington, 



12 J: EARLY BIBLES. 

New Jersey. The book was designed for free 
distribution among the poor. 

The first Hebrew Bible published in the 
United States came from the press of Thomas 
Dobson of Philadelphia in 1814. 

Eugene Cummiskey, in the same city, was a 
diligent publisher of editions of the Bible trans- 
lated from the Latin Vulgate. His first publica- 
tion was a Bible in folio in 1825. - It was well 
printed and illustrated, and commanded a high 
price. In the same year he published a Bible 
in quarto. He was in business for over thirty 
years, and many editions of Bibles and Testa- 
ments issued from his busy presses. 

Hall & Sellers published in 1815 an edition 
of the New Testament. This is a very rare 
book, and only three or four copies are known 
to be extant. This firm were also the printers 
in 1786 of the " Proposed Book of Common 
Prayer." Bishop Perry says, " Few persons 
have seen this remarkable liturgical production ; 
and without any discussions of the principles 
involved in its publication, the bibliographical 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 125 

fact may be stated, that a rarer book connected 
with American church history can hardly be 
named." ^ 

The Collateral Bible, in which the parallel 
passages were printed in full, appeared in 1826, 
Harding being the printer. The Bible was 
edited by Rev. Dr. Ely, a Presbyterian minister, 
and Rev. G. T. Bedell, afterwards the Bishop 
of Ohio. The book did not get beyond one 
edition. 

A Bible bearing the following imprint: 
" Philadelphia : Published and sold by Isaac M. 
Moss, No. 12 South Fourth Street," is of in- 
terest to collectors, as it contains twenty full- 
page illustrations by Dr. Alexander Anderson, 
the first wood engraver of the United States. 
No date is on either of the title-pages. It has 
been conjectured that the year of publication 
was about 1844. Strangely enough, the pub- 
lisher was a Jew. O'CaUaghan does not men- 
tion this Bible. 

1 Joumsd of General Convention by Et. Rev. William 
Stevens Perry, D.D., vol. iii., p. 125. 



126 EARLY BIBLES. 

New York has also contributed through its 
publishers many and valuable editions of the 
Holy Scriptures. The first copy of the New 
Testament came from the press of Hugh Gaine, 
in 1790. Proposals for printing the Bible were 
circulated the same year. It was designated as 
" Brown's Self-instructing Folio Family Bible." 
It was to be printed " on fine paper, American 
manufacture, and on an excellent, large new 
type, cast on purpose for this work." It was 
to be issued in forty numbers, and a number 
was to be delivered every two weeks at twenty- 
five cents each. The first number was to be 
offered for examination, and it was agreed " if 
it should not meet with the approbation of the 
reader, the money shall be immediately re- 
turned." It was also agreed that those who se- 
cured subscriptions to the Bible " shall receive 
one copy gratis for every twelve they may ob- 
tain." The numbers appeared from time to 
time through two years, until the Bible was 
completed in 1792. The publishers were Hodge 
& Campbell. As the title-page indicates, the 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 127 

book is supplied with explanatory notes and re- 
flections "by the late Reverend John Brown, 
Minister of the Gospel at Haddington." There 
is a frontispiece at the head of the volume, 
and another before the New Testament. There 
are also eighteen copper-plate engravings of 
scenes from Scripture. Heading the printed list 
of subscribers is the name of George Washing- 
ton. 

The same year Hodge & Campbell printed 
a quarto edition of the Bible which received 
the indorsement of the State Legislature by a 
vote passed March 18, 1790. 

Ezra Sargent, 86 Broadway, published in 1811 
a quarto edition of the Bible, " with a Commen- 
tary and critical Notes, designed as a help to 
the better understanding of the Sacred Writ- 
ings, by Adam Clarke, LL.D." Bibles with 
Clarke's notes multiplied in later years, but 
this was the first edition that appeared in the 
United States. 

The first Bible printed in this country from 
stereotjrpe plates cast in the United States, 



128 EARLY BIBLES. 

came from the press of D. & G. Bruce, No. 27 
Williams Street, in 1815. 

Isaac Collins was succeeded in his business 
in New York by Collins & Co. They printed 
a Bible in quarto in 1814, and their first 
stereotyped edition in 1816. During many 
years various impressions of the Bible and 
New Testament have been printed, and the 
Collins family are still in the publishing busi- 
ness after the lapse of more than a hundred 
years. 

The New York Bible and Common Prayer 
Book Society was organized in 1809, and 
was the first institution in this country, with 
the exception of the Bible Society of Phila- 
delphia, for the free distribution of the Scrip- 
tures. Many missionary fields and destitute 
parishes have received the benefit of its pub- 
lications. 

The American Bible Society was founded 
in 1816, and has branches in nearly all the 
States. It has gathered a valuable Biblical 
library of over 3,500 volumes in more than 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 129 

one hundred and fifty different languages and 
dialects. Since the beginning of the century- 
it has published more than forty millions of 
copies of the New Testament, the Bible and 
portions of it. 

The American and Foreign Bible Society 
was organized in 1837, by members of the 
Baptist denomination. In 1838 it issued an 
octavo edition of the Bible. It was a reprint 
of an Oxford Bible of 1833. The New Testa- 
ment in duodecimo was also printed in 1838. 
This society for a number of years issued edi- 
tions of the Scriptures, and assisted the Rev. 
Dr. Jndson of India in publishing a Bible in 
the Burmese language. 

In 1865 the American Bible Union, also a 
Baptist organization, published a revised edition 
of the New Testament. While there are several 
hundred emendations, they refer mostly to small 
words, such as the use of "says" for "saith." 
The principal and most decided changes in 
the translation consist in the substitution of 
" immerse " for baptize," and " immersing " for 



130 EARLY BIBLES. 

" washing." The following quotations will show 
the nature of the revision : — 

St. Mark vii. 3. "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, 
unless they wash their hands diligently, do not eat, holding 
the tradition of the elders ; 

4. And coming from the market, unless they immerse 
themselves they do not eat; and there are many other things 
which they received to hold, immersions of cups, and pots, 
and brazen vessels, and couches." 

St. John, i. 25. " And they asked him, and said to him, 
Why then dost thou immerse, if thou art not the Christ, 
nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? 

26. John answered them, saying, I immerse in water. 

28. These things took place in Bethany beyond the 
Jordan, where John was immersing. 

32. And John testified, saying, I have beheld the Spirit 
descending as a dove out of heaven, and it abode upon 
him. 

33. And I knew him not ; but he who sent me to im- 
merse in water, he said to me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt 
see the Spirit descending, and abiding on him, this is he who 
immerses in the Holy Spirit." 

St. John iii. 22. " After these things came Jesus and his 
disciples into the land of Judea; and there he remained 
with them and immersed. 

23. And John also was immersing in ^non near Salim 
because there was much water there ; and they came and 
were immersed." 

This version of the New Testament is not as 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 131 

a rule read in public services, but is used as 
a book of reference. There is a difference of 
opinion among Baptists regarding it, and one 
edition is printed with the word " immerse," 
and another with the word "baptize." 

The first Bible printed in the United States 
from electrotyped plates came from the publish- 
ing-house of Harper & Brothers in 1846. It 
contained 1,600 illustrations, and was called the 
Illuminated Bible. 

Boston also contributed early issues of the 
Bible. B. Green published the Gospel of St. 
John in Indian and English in 1707 and 1709. 
Portions of the Old and New Testaments were 
printed by S. Kneeland in 1718. "The New 
Hieroglyphical Bible for the amusement and 
instruction of children" came from the press 
of "W. Norman, Book and Chart Seller," in 
1794. 

An edition of the New Testament appeared 
in the same year by Alexander Young and 
Thomas Minns. Thomas & Andrews issued a 
12mo Bible in 1801, and repeated it a number 
of times in after years. 



132 EARLY BIBLES. 

The first copy of the New Testament in 
French, published in the United States, came 
from the house of J. T. Buckingham of Boston 
in 1810. 

In 1834, in the same city, Rufus Davenport 
printed a Bible which has these words on the 
title-page : — 

"The Eight- Aim School Bible; comprising the Holy 
Bible of the Old and New Testaments, and an Annexment 
containing the Free-Debt-Eule Petitions, addressed, the 
first to the Twenty-four States, the Second, to the Con- 
gress, the Third to the President of the United States of 
America, and affixed Memorials; the Fourth Petition to 
three High Officers of the Government of England. Also 
the Declaration of Free-debtism." 

In 1834 Manson & Grant published a Para- 
graph Bible which was edited by Rev. Dr. Coit, 
then Rector of Christ Church, Cambridge, Mass. 
The title-page indicates the nature of the work, 
for it states that the passages of Scripture 
are "arranged in Paragraphs and Parallelisms 
with philological and explanatory Annotations." 
The verbal difficulties are explained, and chro- 
nology noted in the margins. The New Testa- 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 183 

ment went througli several editions, and the 
whole work was reprinted in England in 1838. 
This Bible is of interest from the fact that it 
was the first Bible printed in America that con- 
tained "The Address of the Translators to the 
Reader" as it appeared in the King James ver- 
sion of 1611. 

Dr. Coit says in his Preface, " Another ac- 
companiment of King James's Bible was the 
Translators' Preface, or their Address to the 
Reader. How this has fallen into such desue- 
tude and neglect as to be scarce even in Eng- 
land, while the Dedication, which wants in 
critical value as much as it abounds in pane- 
gyric, has been printed hundreds of times by 
king-disliking republicans, it is not easy to 
conjecture. For, as a document gratifying to 
the curious, it might be supposed worthy no 
infrequent repetition, and as a document for 
the ecclesiastical historian and the critic, it is 
of a species the foremost in value. What exi- 
gencies occasioned the translation in use ? How 
and by whom was it attempted and superin- 



134 EARLY BIBLES. 

tended? What leading objects were kept in 
view in the completion of the work ? By what 
spirit were its authors prompted ? Under what 
rules did they act, and what objections were 
raised against their labors ? These, and ques- 
tions akin to them, are full of moment to all 
who wish to ascertain what gave our present 
Bible its origin, and the standard for testing 
its merits." Further, Dr. Coit says, "The 
editor must enjoy a few grains of satisfaction, 
even if with many his labors are thankless, in 
being the first to offer his countrymen a Bible 
which, in some respects, is nearer the book 
issued by our translators, than any ever pub- 
lished on this side of the Atlantic. Indeed, 
though he has seen many American Bibles, it 
has never yet been his fortune to meet with one 
(except the late imperfect reprint of the Com- 
prehensive Bible) containing the Translators' 
Address, with all their various readings." 

In 1837 Otis Clapp, No. 121 Washington 
Street, published a 12mo Bible which con- 
tained solely those books of Scripture that 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 135 

Swedenborg regarded as containing what he 
called "an internal sense." 

The first copy of the New Testament printed 
in Delaware was issued by Peter Brynberg in 
1802. 

The first New Testament in Connecticut 
bore the imprint of A. Morse, New Haven, 
1790. 

The first Bible in the same State was printed 
at Hartford in 1809, by Hudson & Goodwin. 
In 1833 Durrie & Peck of New Haven pub- 
lished a Bible "with amendments of the lan- 
guage " by Noah Webster, LL.D. In the 
Preface three reasons are given for undertak- 
ing the revision. In substance, these are first, 
the substitution of certain words in place of 
" such as are wholly obsolete, or deemed below 
the dignity and solemnity of the subject ; " sec- 
ond, " the correction of errors in grammar ; " and 
third, " the insertion of euphemisms, words and 
phrases which are not very offensive to delicacy." 
The amended Bible reached a second edition in 
1841, but has not been repeated since. There 



136 EARLY BIBLES. 

were editions of tlie New Testament in 1839 
and 1841. The revision did not meet with the 
favor that Dr. Webster had anticipated, and 
was as signal a failure as his Dictionary was 
a success. Mr. Scudder says of the revision 
that it was "sufficient to annoy those who 
had an ear for the old version, and really offer- 
ing only such positive helps in interpretation 
as were generally in the possession of fairly 
educated men. That he should have done the 
work at all, and have done it so faintly, is what 
surprises the reader." ^ Further Mr. Scudder 
says of Dr. Webster, " he was ignorant of what 
he was undertaking, and his independent revis- 
ion of the Bible failed to win attention, not be- 
cause it was audacious, but because it was not 
bold enough ; it offered no real contribution to 
Biblical criticism." 

The American Publishing Company of Hart- 
ford issued in 1876 a translation of the Bible 
made by Miss Julia E. Smith of Glastonbury, 



1 Horace E. Scudder's Biography of Noah "Webster, pp. 176, 
177. 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 137 

Conn. She learned the Hebrew, but had previ- 
ously a knowledge of the Greek and Latin. She 
was seven years making the translation, having 
attempted it at first for her own satisfaction and 
instruction, and without any thought of publi- 
cation. She says, " I continued my labors and 
wrote out the Bible five times, twice from the 
Greek, twice from the Hebrew, and once from 
the Latin — the Vulgate." While this transla- 
tion has had but little if any effect upon sacred 
literature, the persistency, patience, and study 
which resulted in the acquisition of the ancient 
languages of Scripture must be commended. 
The rendering of the Lord's Prayer in this 
version is as follows : — 



St. Matthew vi. 9. "Therefore so do ye pray : Our Fa- 
ther which in the heavens, Let thy name be declared holy. 

10. Let thy kingdom come. Let thy will be as in heaven 
also upon the earth. 

11. Give us this day our bread sufficient for sustenance. 

12. And let go to us our-debts, as we let go to our debtors. 

13. And thou shouldst not lead us into temptation, but 
deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the 
power, and the glory, forever. Amen." 



138 EARLY BIBLES. 

In the colonial times, and the early days of 
the American States, there were notable edi- 
tions of the Bible and New Testament printed 
in small towns, and especially in the State of 
Pennsylvania. Ephrata in Lancaster County 
was settled in 1733 by German Baptists. They 
devoted themselves to printing with industry 
and enterprise, and published books and news- 
papers in their own tongue. The noted Martyr 
Books and editions of the New Testament were 
printed on excellent paper made in the town. 
An edition of the New Testament in German 
appeared at this place in 1787, and was probably 
the first edition. It is printed in bold, clear- 
faced type, and is a most admirable example of 
early book-making. It is greatly prized by col- 
lectors and brings a high price. The title-page 
does not contain the name of any printer, but 
there is a note at the end of the Book of Reve- 
lation which explains that the work was done 
by the Dunker Community. The note reads : 
"N. B. Formerly printed several times, at 
Zurich, Basle, and Frankfort and Leipsic ; now 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 139 

however, at Ephrata, at the expense of the Breth- 
ren, in the year 1787." At the end of the book 
are " Four beautiful spiritual hymns." A 16mo 
edition of the Psalms was printed in 1793. 
O'Callaghan makes no reference to the pub- 
lications at Ephrata, which is a remarkable 
omission. 

Michael Billmeyer was an industrious printer 
of New Testaments at Germantown through a 
number of years. His German Testaments bear 
the following dates: 1787, 1795, 1803, 1807, 
1808, 1810, 1815, 1819, and 1822. He also 
published a 12mo edition of the Psalms in 
1815 and again in 1828. In 1824 Moser & 
Peters of Carlisle issued a German New Testa- 
ment illustrated with twelve rude wood-cuts. 

In 1819 Johann Bar published at Lancaster 
a German Bible in folio. The Old Testament 
has a frontispiece representing Moses with the 
Tables of the Law, and the New Testament 
another frontispiece, being an engraving of the 
Adoration of the Shepherds. This was probably 
the first /oZ^o edition of the Bible in German 
printed in the United States. 



140 EARLY BIBLES. 

Small towns in other parts of the Union have 
multiplied editions of the Scriptures. 

Merriam & Company published in 1815 at 
Brookfield, Mass., an edition of the Bible of 
12,000 copies. H. & E. Phinney of Coopers- 
town, N.Y., published their first edition of the 
Bible in 1822. Their work was well and care- 
fully done, and for over twenty-five years edi- 
tion followed edition, and their imprint became 
familiar to Bible readers. 

As we have been dealing with early versions 
and editions, this is not the place to speak of 
the magnificent editions of the Bible issued by 
the great publishing houses of our day, with 
their splendid facilities for printing and illus- 
trating. While many of the early Bibles were 
rude and unadorned, we must respect them, for 
they represent conscientious work and the best 
art of their time. 

In the consideration of our subject no attempt 
has been made to be inclusive, as the theme is 
so large that only leading editions of the Bible 
could be noticed. O'Callaghan numbers the 



VARIOUS EDITIONS. 141 

titles of Bibles or portions thereof, published in 
America from 1661 to 1880, at fifteen hundred. 
Such facts are evidences of the enduring hold 
that the Book of books has upon the heart of 
man. 



APPENDICES. 



APPENDIX A. 

DEDICATION IN THE ELIOT NEW TESTAMENT 

OF 1661. 

To the High and Mighty Prince^ Charles the 
Second^ hy the Gtrace of God, King of Eng- 
land, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender 
of the Faith, ^c. 

The Commissioners of the United Colonies 
in New England, wish increase of all happi- 
ness, &c. 

Most Dread Soveraign, — If our weak appre- 
hensions have not misled us, this Work will be 
no unacceptable Present to Your Majesty, as 
having a greater Interest therein, than we be- 
lieve is generally understood : which (upon this 
Occasion) we conceive it our duty to declare. 

The People of these four Colonies (Confed- 
erated for Mutual Defence, in the time of the 
late Distractions of our dear Native Country) 
143 



144 EARLY BIBLES. 

Your Majesties natural born Subjects, by the 
Favour and Grant of Your Royal Father and 
Grandfather of Famous Memory, put themselves 
upon this great and hazardous Undertaking, of 
Planting themselves at their own Charge in 
these remote ends of the Earth, that without 
offence or provocation to our dear Brethren and 
Countrymen, we might enjoy that liberty to 
Worship God, which our own Consciences in- 
formed us, was not onely our Right, but Duty: 
As also that we might (if it so pleased God) be 
instrumental to spread the light of the Gospel, 
the knowledg of the Son of God our Saviour, 
to the poor barbarous Heathen, which by His 
late Majesty, in some of our Patents, is declared 
to be His principal aim. 

These honest and Pious Intentions, have, 
through the grace and goodness of God and our 
Kings, been seconded with proportionable suc- 
cess : for, omitting the Immunities indulged us 
by Your Highness Royal Predecessors, we have 
been greatly encouraged by Your Majesties 
gracious expressions of Favour and Approba- 



APPENDICES. 145 

tion signified, unto the Address made by the 
principal of our Colonies, to which the rest do 
most cordially Subscribe, though wanting the 
like seasonable opportunity, they have been 
(till now) deprived of the means to Congratu- 
late your Majesties happy Restitution, after 
Your long suffering, which we implore may yet 
be graciously accepted, that we may be equal 
partakers of Your Royal Favour and Modera- 
tion; which hath been so Illustrious that (to 
admiration) the animosities and different Per- 
swasions of men have been so soon Composed, 
and so much cause of hope, that (unless the 
signs of the nation prevent) a blessed calm will 
succeed the late horrid Confusions of Church 
and State. And shall not we (Dread Soveraigri) 
your Subjects of these Colonies, of the same 
Faith and Belief in all Points of Doctrine with 
our Countrymen, and the other Reformed 
Churches, (though perhaps not all alike per- 
swaded in some matters of Order, which in out- 
ward respects hath been unhappy for us) prom- 
ise and assure ourselves of all just favour and 



146 EARLY BIBLES. 

indulgence from a Prince so happily and gra- 
ciously endowed? 

The other part of our Errand hither, hath 
been attended with Endevours and Blessing ; 
many of the wilde Indians being taught, and 
understanding the Doctrine of the Christian 
Religion, and with much affection attending 
such Preachers as are sent to teach them, many 
of their Children are instructed to Write and 
Reade, and some of them have proceeded fur- 
ther, to attain the knowledge of the Latine and 
Greek Tongues, and are brought up with our 
English youth in University-learning: There 
are divers of them that can and do reade some 
parts of the Scripture, and some Catechisms, 
which formerly have been Translated into their 
own Language, which hath occasioned the 
undertaking of a greater Work, viz : The 
Printing of the whole Bible, which (being 
Translated by a painful Labourer amongst them, 
who was desirous to see the Work accomplished 
in his dayes) hath already proceeded to the fin- 
ishing of the New Testament, which we here 



APPENDICES. 147 

humbly present to Your Majesty, as the first 
fruits and accomplishment of the Pious Design 
of your Royal Ancestors. The Old Testament 
is now under the Press, wanting and craving 
your Royal Favour and Assistance for the per- 
fecting thereof. 

We may not conceal, that though this Work 
hath been begun and prosecuted by such Instru- 
ments as God hath raised up here, yet the chief 
Charge and Cost, which hath supported and 
carried it thus far, hath been from the Charity 
and Piety of divers of our well-affected Coun- 
trymen in England ; who being sensible of our 
inability in that respect, and studious to pro- 
mote so good a Work, contributed large Sums 
of Money, which were to be improved according 
to the Direction and Order of the then prevail- 
ing Powers, which hath been faithfully and reli- 
giously attended both there and here, according 
to the pious intentions of the Benefactors. And 
we do most humbly beseech your Majesty, that 
a matter of so much Devotion and Piety, tend- 
ing so much to the Honour of God, may suffer 



148 EARLY BIBLES. 

no disappointment tlirougli any Legal defect 
(without the fault of the Donors, or the poor 
Indians, who onely receive the benefit) but that 
your Majesty be graciously pleased to Establish 
and Confirm the same, being contrived and done 
(as we conceive) in the first year of your Majes- 
ties Reign, as this Book was begun and now fin- 
ished in the first year of your Establishment ; 
which doth not onely presage the happy success 
of your Highness Government, but will be a 
perpetual monument, that by your Majesties 
Favour the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, was first made known to the Indi- 
ans : An Honour whereof (we are assured) 
your Majesty will not a little esteem. 

Sir, 27ie shines of Your Royal Favour upon 
these Vhdertakings, will make these tender Plants 
to flourish, notwithstanding any malevolent 
Aspect from those that bear evil will to this Sion, 
and render Your Majesty more Illustrious and 
Glorious to after Generations. 
TJie God of Heaven long preserve and bless 

Your Majesty with many happy Dayes, to his 

Glory, the good and comfort of his Church and 

People. Amen. 



APPENDICES. 149 

APPENDIX B. 

DEDICATION IN THE ELIOT BIBLE OF 1663. 

To the High and Mighty Prince, Charles the 
Second, hy the Grrace of Grod, King of Eng- 
land, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender 
of the Faith, ^c. 

The Commissioners of the United Colonies in 
New-England, wish all happiness, &c. 

Most Deead Soveraign, — As our former 
Presentation of the New Testament was Gra- 
ciously Accepted by Your Majesty ; so with all 
Humble Thankfulness for that Royal Favour, 
and with the like hope, We are bold now to 
Present the WHOLE BIBLE, Translated into 
the Language of the Natives of this Country, 
by A Painful Labourer in that Work, and now 
Printed and Finished, by means of the Pious 
Beneficence of Your Majesties Subjects in Eng- 
land: which also by Your Special Favour have 
been Continued and Confirmed to the intended 
Use and Advancement of so Great and Good a 
Work, as is the Propagation of the Gospel to 



150 EARLY BIBLES. 

these poor Barbarians in this (Erewhile) Un- 
known World. 

Translations of Holy Scripture, The Word 
of the King of Kings., have ever been deemed 
not unworthy of the most Princely Dedica- 
tions : Examples whereof are extant in divers 
Languages. But Your Majesty is the First 
that hath Received one in this Language, or 
from this American World., or from any Parts 
so Remote from Europe as these are, for ought 
that ever we heard of. 

Publications of these Sacred Writings to 
the Sons of Men (who here, and here onely, 
have the Mysteries of their Eternal Salvation 
revealed to them by the God of Heaven) is a 
Work that the Greatest Princes have Honoured 
themselves by. But to Publish and Communi- 
cate the same to a Lost People, as remote from 
Knowledge and Civility, much more from 
Christianity, as they were from all Knowing, 
Civil and Christian Nations ; a People without 
Law, without Letters, without Riches, or 
Means to procure any such thing; a people that 



APPENDICES. 151 

sate as deep in Darkness, and in the Shadow of 
Death, as (we think) any since the Creation : 
This puts a Lustre upon it that is Superlative ; 
and to have given Royal Patronage and Coun- 
tenance to such a Publication, or to the 
Means thereof, will stand among the Marks of 
Lasting Honour in the eyes of all that are 
Considerate, even unto After-Generations. 

And though there be in this Western 
World many Colonies of other Europaean 
Nations, yet we humbly conceive, no Prince 
hath had a Return of such a Work as this ; 
which may be some Token of the Success of 
Your Majesties Plantation of New-England, 
Undertaken and Setled under the Encourage- 
ment and Security of Grants from Your Royal 
Father and Grandfather, of Famous Memory, 
and Cherished with late Gracious Aspects from 
Your Majesty. Though indeed, the present 
Poverty of these Plantations could not have 
Accomplished this Work, had not the foremen- 
tioned Bounty of England lent Relief ; Nor 
could that have Continued to stand us in stead, 



152 EARLY BIBLES. 

without the Influence of Your Royal Favour 
and Authority, whereby the Corporation there, 
for Propagating the Crospel among these Na- 
tives^ hath been Established and Encouraged 
(whose Labour of Love, Care and Faithfulness 
in that Trust, must ever be remembred with 
Honour.) Yea, when private persons, for their 
private Ends, have of late sought Advantages 
to deprive the said Corporation of Half the 
Possessions that had been, by Liberal Contribu- 
tions, obtained for so Religious Ends; We 
understand, That by an Honourable and Right- 
eous Decision in Your Majesties Court of 
Chancery^ their Hopes have been defeated, and 
the Thing Settled where it was and is. For 
which great Favour and Illustrious Fruit of 
Your Majesties Government, we cannot but re- 
turn our most Humble Thanks in this Publick 
Manner : And, as the Result, of the joynt En- 
deavours of Your Majesties Subjects there and 
here, acting under Your Royal Influence, We 
Present You with this Work, which upon 
sundry accounts is to be called Yours. 



APPENDICES. 153 

The Southern Colonies of the Spanish 
Nation have sent home from this American 
Continent, much Gold and Silver, as the Fruit 
and End of their Discoveries and Transplanta- 
tions : That (we confess is a scarce Commodity 
in this Colder Climate. But (sutable to the 
Ends of our Undertaking) we Present this, and 
other Concomitant Fruits of our poor Endeav- 
ours to Plant and Propagate the Gospel here ; 
which, upon a true account, is as much better 
than Gold, as the Souls of men are more worth 
than the whole World. This is a Nobler Fruit 
(and indeed, in the Counsels of All-Disposing 
Providence, was an higher intended End) of 
Columbus his adventure. And though by his 
Brother's being hindred from a seasonable 
Application, your Famous Predecessour and 
Ancestor, King Henry the Seventh, missed of 
being sole owner of that first Discovery, and of 
the Riches thereof ; yet, if the Honour of first 
Discovering the True and Saving Knowledge of 
the Gospel unto the poor Americam^ and of 
Erecting the Kingdom of JESUS CHRIST 



154 EARLY BIBLES. 

among them, be Reserved for, and do Redound 
unto your Majesty, and the English Nation, 
After-ages Will not reckon this Inferiour to 
the other. Religion is the End and Glory of 
Mankinde ; and as it was the Professed End of 
this Plantation ; so we desire ever to keep it in 
our Eye as our main design (both as to our 
selves, and the Natives about us) and that our 
Products may be answerable thereunto. Give 
us therefore leave {Dread Soveraign) yet again 
humbly to Beg the Continuance of your Royal 
Favour, and of the Influences thereof, upon 
this poor Plantation, The United Colonies of 
NEW ENGLAND, for the Securing and 
Establishment of our Civil Priviledges, and 
Religious Liberties hitherto Enjoyed ; and, 
upon this Good Work of Propagating Religion 
to these Natives, that the Supports and Encour- 
agements thereof from England may be still 
countenanced and Confirmed. May this Nurs- 
ling still suck the Breast of Kings, and be 
fostered by your Majesty, as it hath been by 
your Royal Predecessors, unto the Preservation 



APPENDICES. 155 

of its main Concernments ; It shall thrive and 
prosper to the Glory of God, and the Honour 
of your Majesty : Neither will it be any loss or 
grief unto our Lord the King, to have the 
Blessings of the Poor to come upon Him, and 
that from these Ends of the Earth. 

The Crod hy whom Kings Reign, and Princes 
Decree Justice, Bless Your Majesty, and 
Establish your Throne in Righteousness, in 
Mercy and in Truth, to the Glory of His 
Name, the Good of his People, and to your 
own Comfort and Rejoycing, not in this 
onely, but in another World, 



156 EARLY BIBLES. 



APPENDIX C. 

To the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq: 
Governour^ And to the Company, for the 
Propagation of The Gospel to the Indians 
in New England, and Parts adjacent in 
America. 

Honourable S^s, — There are more than 
thirty years passed since the Charitable and 
Pious Collections were made throughout the 
Kingdom of EngZawc?, for the Propagation of 
the Gospel to the Indians, Natives of His 
MAJESTIES Territories in America ; and near 
the same time : since by His late MAJESTIES 
favour of ever blessed Memory, the Affair was 
erected into an Honourable Corporation by 
Charter under the Broad Seal of England ; in all 
which time our selves and those that were before 
us, that have been Your Stewards, and managed 
Your Trust here, are witnesses of Your earnest 
and sincere endeavours, that that good Work 
might prosper and flourish, not only by the 
good management of the Estate committed to 



APPENDICES. 157 

You, but by Your own Charitable and Honour- 
able Additions thereto ; whereof this second 
Edition of the HOLY BIBLE in their own 
Language, much corrected and amended, we 
hope will be an everlasting witness ; for where- 
soever this Gospel shall be Preached, this also 
that you have done, shall be spoken of for a 
Memorial of you ; and as it hath, so it shall be 
our studious desire and endeavour, that the 
success amongst the Indians here, in reducing 
them into a civil and holy life, may in some 
measure answer the great and necessary Ex- 
pences thereabouts : And our humble Prayer to 
Almighty God, that You may have the glorious 
Reward of your Service, both in this and in a 
better World. 

We are Your Honours most Humble and 
Faithful Servants, 

William Stoughtok. 

Joseph Dudley. 

Peter Bulkley. 

Thomas Hinckley. 
Boston, Octob. 23, 1685. 



158 



EARLY BIBLES. 



APPENDIX D. 

List of oivners of Eliot New Testaments and Bibles, as 
far as known. 

New Testaments of 1661. 



British Museum (2), 

British and Foreign Bible Society, 

Bodleian Library, 

Town Library, 

Edinburgh Library, 

University Library, 

Trinity College, 

Harvard University, 

Lenox Library (2), 

Boston Athenaeum, 

Library of the late John Carter Brown 

Library of the late George Livermore, 

Mr. Clarence S. Bement, 

Mr. C. F. Gunther, 

Mr. Frederick F. Thompson, 

Mitchell's Book Store, 



London, Eng. 

London, Eng. 

Oxford, Eng. 

Leicester, Eng. 

Edinburgh, Scot. 

Glasgow, Scot. 

Dublin, Ire. 

Cambridge, Mass. 

New York, N". T. 

Boston, Mass. 

(2), Providence, R. I. 

Cambridge, Mass. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Chicago, 111. 

New York, N, Y. 

New York, N. Y. 



Bible of 1663. 
British Museum, 
Bodleian Library, 
University Library, 
Library of Duke of Devonshire, 
Library of Earl of Spencer, 
Glasgow University, 
Trinity College, 
Royal Library, 
Royal Library, 
Royal Library, 



London, Eng. 

Oxford, Eng. 

Cambridge, Eng. 

Chatsworth, Eng. 

Althorp, Eng. 

Glasgow, Scot. 

Dublin, Ire. 

Stuttgart, Ger. 

Berlin, Ger. 

Copenhagen, Den. 



APPENDICES. 



159 



Zealand Academy of Science, 

University of Virginia, 

Brown University, 

Harvard University, 

Bowdoin College, 

Library of Congress (2), 

Lenox Library (2), 

Andover Theological Seminary, 

Astor Library, 

American Antiquarian Society, 

Boston Athenajum, 

Boston Public Library, 

Massachusetts Historical Society, 

Philadelphia Library Company, 

Congregational Church, 

William Everett, Ph. D., 

Library of the late George Livermore, 

J. Hammond Trumbull, LL.D., 

Library of the late Joseph W. Drexel, 

Mr. Theodore Irwin, 

Mr. John Lyon Gardner, 

Mrs. Laura Eliot Cutter, 

Library of the late Charles H. Kalbfleisch 

Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, 

Library of the late John Carter Brown, 

Mr. E. P. Vining, 

Mr. C. F. Gunther, 

Mr. Frederick F. Thompson, 

Mr. Sumner Hollingsworth, 

Mr. Charles R. Hildeburn, 



Middleburg, Holl. 

Charlottesville, Va. 

Providence, R. I. 

Cambridge, Mass. 

Brunswick, Me. 

Washington, D.C. 

New York, IST. Y. 

Andover, Mass. 

New York, N. Y. 

Worcester, Mass. 

Boston, Mass. 

Boston, Mass. 

Boston, Mass. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Newport, R. I. 

Quincy, Mass. 

Cambridge, Mass. 

Hartford, Conn. 

New York, N. Y. 

Oswego, N. Y. 

Gardner's Island, N. Y. 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 

New York, N. Y. 

New York, N. Y. 

Providence, R. I. 

St. Louis, Mo. 

Chicago, 111. 

New York, N. Y. 

Boston, Mass. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 



New Testament of 1680. 
Mr. W. B. Shillaber, 



Boston, Mass. 



160 



EARLY BIBLES. 



Bible of 1685. 

* British Museum, 

British and Foreign Bible Society, 
Bodleian Library, 

* Trinity College, 
Library of Advocates, 
Edinburgh University, 
Glasgow University, 
Royal Library, 

* Leyden University, 
Prince Stolberg Library, 

* Utrecht University, 
Royal Library, 

* University Library, 
Library of the Earl of Spencer, 
Harvard University, 
University of South Carolina, 
Yale College, 

Trinity College, 
Morse Institute, 
Eowdoin College, 
Dartmouth College (2), 
Pilgrim Society, 
Philadelphia Library Co. (2), 

* Andover Theological Seminary, 

* Lenox Library (2), 

Long Island Historical Society, 

* Massachusetts Historical Society, 
New York Historical Society, 
Historical Society Pennsylvania, 
New York State Library, 
American Antiquarian Society (2), 
American Philosophical Society (2), 



London, Eng. 

London, Eng. 

Oxford, Eng. 

Cambridge, Eng. 

Edinburgh, Scot. 

Edinburgh, Scot. 

Glasgow, Scot. 

Stuttgart, Ger. 

Leyden, HoM. 

Wernigerode, Ger. 

Utrecht, Holl. 

Copenhagen, Den. 

Copenhagen, Den. 

Althorp, Eng. 

Cambridge, Mass. 

Columbia, S. C. 

New Haven, Conn. 

Hartford, Conn. 

Natick, Mass. 

Brunswick, Me. 

Hanover, N. H. 

Plymouth, Mass. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Andover, Mass. 

New York, N. Y. 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Boston, Mass. 

New York, N. Y. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Albany, N. Y. 

Worcester, Mass. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 



* Contains the original dedication to Hon. Robert Boyle. 



APPENDICES. 



161 



Boston Athenaeum (2), Boston, Mass. 

* Boston Public Library, Boston, Mass. 
Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 
Congregational Library, Boston, Mass. 
Connecticut Historical Society (2), Hartford, Conn. 
Rev. John F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D., Washington, D. C. 

* Dr. Charles R. King, Andalusia, Penn. 
Mr. Levi Z. Leiter, Chicago, 111. 
Library of the late George Livermore, Cambridge, Mass. 
Dr. Ellsworth Eliot, New York, N. T. 

* Library of the late Col. Geo. W. Pratt, New York, N. Y. 
J. Hammond Trumbull, LL.D., Hartford, Conn. 
Mr. Lucius L. Hubbard (2), Cambridge, Mass. 
Library of the late George Brinley, Hartford, Conn. 
Mr. Wilberforce Eames, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

* Library of the late John Carter Brown (2), Providence, R. I. 
Rev. Henry M. Dexter, Boston, Mass. 
Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, New York, N. Y. 
Mr. C. F. Gunther, Chicago, 111. 



KECAPITtJLATION. 

Copies owned in Europe, 
Copies owned in the United States, 
Total, 



33 

89 

122 



162 EARLY BIBLES. 



APPENDIX E. 

Some of the prices paid for Eliot New Testaments and 
Bibles. 

New Testament of 1661. 

Thompson copy $340.00 

Bement copy 610.00 

Lenox Library copy . 700.00 

Bible of 1663. 

Gunther copy $250.00 

Drexel copy 550.00 

Cutter copy 900.00 

Morgan copy 1,000.00 

Astor Library copy 1,125.00 

Hildeburn copy 1,600.00 

Kalbfleisch copy 2,900.00 

Bible of 1685. 

Eames copy . $140.00 

Eliot copy 230.00 

Trumbull copy 325.00 

Leitercopy 500.00 

Vanderbilt copy 550.00 

Penn. Historical Society copy 590.00 

Brown copy 950.00 



APPENDICES. 



163 



APPENDIX F. 



List of owners of the Saur Bibles as far as known. 



* Ducal Library, 

* Royal Library, 

* Royal Library, 

* Royal Library, 

* Prince Stolberg Library, 
t Dr. J. Haeberlin, 

* Landes Bibliotbek, 

* Ducal Library, 
Royal Library, 
Harvard University, 
Lafayette College, 
Tale College, 
Library of Congress, 
Newberry Library, 
Gerinania Society, 
Historical Society (3), 
Lenox Library, 
Mr, Theodore Irwin, 
Mr. C. F. Gunther, 
Rev. John F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D 
Mr. Howard Edwards, 
Mr. Abraham Cassel, 
Samuel W. Pennypacker, LL.D., 



Bible of 1U3. 

Wolfenbiittel, Ger. 

Frankfort-on-the Main, Ger. 

Dresden, Ger. 

Stuttgart, Ger. 

Wernigerode, Ger. 

Frankfort-on-the Main, Ger. 

Cassel, Ger. 

Gotha, Ger. 

Copenhagen, Den. 

Cambridge, Mass. 

Easton, Penn. 

New Haven Conn. 

Washington, D. C. 

Chicago, 111. 

Chicago, 111. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

New York, N. Y. 

Oswego, N. Y. 

Chicago, 111. 

Washington, D. C. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Harleysville, Penn. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 



*Dr. Ruppersburg, In United States, but place unknown. 



Bible of 1763. 



Lenox Library, 



New York, N. Y. 



* Presentation copy from Mr. H. E. Luther. 
tMr. H. E. Luther's own copy. 



164 



EARLY BIBLES. 



State Library, 

Historical Society (2), 

Mr. Howard Edwards, 

Rev. Jolin F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D, 

Mr. C. F. Gunther, 

Samuel W. Pennypacker, LL.D., 

Mr. Abraham Cassel, 

Eev. John Wright, D.D., 



Harrisburg, Perm. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Washington, D. C. 

Chicago, 111. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Harleysville, Penn. 

St. Paul, Minn. 



Bible of 1776. 
Union College, 
Harvard University, 
Historical Society (3), 
Historical Society, 
Long Island Historical Society, 
Minnesota Historical Society, 
Lenox Library, 

Philadelphia Library Company, 
American Bible Society, 
Friends' Free Library, 
Eev. John F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D. (3), 
Samuel W. Pennypacker, LL.D., 
Mr. C. F. Gunther, 
Mr. Howard Edwards, 
Mr. Theodore Irwin, 
Mr. Abraham Cassel, 
Rev. John Wright, D.D., 
The Sower families, 40 copies of the various editions, 

Philadelphia, Penn 



Schenectady, N". Y. 

Cambridge, Mass. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

New York, N. Y. 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 

St. Paul, Minn. 

New York, N. Y. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

New York, N. Y. 

Germantown, Penn. 

Washington, D. C. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Chicago, 111. 

Philadelphia, Penn. 

Oswego, N. Y. 

Harleysville, Penn. 

St. Paul, Minn. 



KECAPITULATION. 



Copies owned in Europe, 
Copies owned in the United States, 
Total, 



9 

97 



APPENDICES. 



165 



APPENDIX G. 



List of owners of the Aitken Bible as far as known. 



British Museum, 


London, Eng. 


Massachusetts Historical Society, 


Boston, Mass. 


New York State Library, 


Albany, N. Y. 


Library of Congress, 


Washington, D. C. 


American Antiquarian Society, 


Worcester, Mass. 


American Bible Society, 


New York, N. Y. 


Lenox Library (2), 


New York, N. Y. 


Maryland Episcopal Library, 


Baltimore, Md. 


Connecticut Historical Society, 


Hartford, Conn, 


Philadelphia Library Company (2), 


Philadelphia, Penn. 


Pennsylvania Historical Society, 


Philadelphia, Penn. 


Mr, Abraham Cassel, 


Harleysville, Penn, 


Mr. Howard Edwards, 


Philadelphia, Penn. 


Mr. William Y. McAllister, 


Philadelphia, Penn, 


Samuel W. Pennypacker, LL.D., 


Philadelphia, Penn, 


Mr. C. F. Gunther, 


Chicago, 111. 


Pvev. John F. Hurst, D.D., LL.D., 


Washington, D. C, 


RECAPITULATION, 




Copy owned in England, 


1 


Copies owned in the United States, 


18 


Total, 


19 



INDEX. 



AlTKEN Bible, Thomas's statement about, 55,56; correctness of this 
statement questioned by Bancroft, 57; first copy of, in British 
Museum, 57; Sam Hazard's letter about, 58; sanction and sup- 
port of Congress sought for, 61 ; report of Congressional Chap- 
lains upon, 62 ; resolution of Congress upon, 63 ; description of, 
63,64,65; title-page of, 64; financially unsuccessful, 66; resolu- 
tion of Presbyterian Synod upon, 66; rarity of, 67; of interest to 
Americans, 67 ; owners of, Appendix G, 163. 

AiTKEN, Jane, 120. 

AiTKEN New Testament, copy of, in Lenox Library, 60; title-page 
of, 60 ; description of, 61 ; editions of, 61 ; title-page of, in Bible 
of 1782, 65. 

AiTKEN, KOBEET, 59, 61, 120. 

Algonkin Language, 14, 15 ; had no equivalent for certain words, 
14 ; Cotton Mather's opinion of, 15 ; Dr. Ellis on, 15. 

American Antiquarian Society, Isaiah Thomas's connection 
with, 84, 85. 

American Bible Society, number of its publications, 128. 

American Bible Union, its revised New Testament, 129-131. 

American and Foreign Bible Society, 129. 

American Monthly Review on Dickinson's New and Corrected 
Version of the New Testament, quoted, 107. 

Apocrypha, why omitted in some copies of Collins's Bible, 90. 

Bancroft's History of the United States, quoted, 56, 57. 

Bar, Johann, publisher of first German folio Bible, 139. 

Bible, Aitken, 55, and owners of. Appendix G; — Berriman & Co.'s, 
122; Brown's Self -Instructing, 126 ; Bruce's, 128; Carey's, 121; 
Clapp's, 134; Colt's Paragraph, 132-134; Collins's, 86, 128; Col- 
lateral, 125 ; Cummiskey's, 124; Eliot of 1663, 4-16, 21, 22, 25, 110, 
Appendices B and £ ; Eliot of 1685, 19-22, Appendices D and E ; 
167 



168 INDEX. 

first electrotyped, 131; first in Conn., 135; first from American 
stereotyped plates, 127; Franklin's proposed, 104; first German 
folio, 139; Hebrew, 124; Hieroglyphical, 131; Hodge & Camp- 
bell's, 127; Hot-press, 122; Illuminated, 131; Kimber, Conrad & 
Co.'s, 123; Latin, 121, 124; Moss's, 125; New York, 126, 127; Phil- 
adelphia, 120-125; Right-Aim School, 132; Sargent's, 127; Saur 
of 1743, 28 and Appendix F; Saur of 1763, 50 and Appendix F; 
Saur of 1776, 51 and AppendixF; Smith's, Julia E., 136; Thomas, 
76; Webster's (Noah), 135 ; Young's, 121; Yungmann's German 53. 

" BiBLE-CONGKESS," 67. 
BiLLMEYER, MICHAEL, 139. 

Blomfield's Greek Testament, 115, 116. 

Boyle, Hon. Robert, 7, 19, 20; dedication to, in copies of Eliot 
Bible of 1685, Appendix C. 

Bradford, William, Proposal to print the Biblo, 119, 120. 

Carey, Matthew, 121. 

CoiT's Paragraph Bible, 132; Quotation from preface of, 1.33. 

Collins, Isaac, 86, 128; proposes to publish a Bible, 87. 

Collins Bible. — Proposal, indorsed by Society of Friends, 87, 88; 
conditionally by Baptist Association, 89; resolution of Presbyte- 
rian General Assembly, 88 ; resolution of Convention of Protest- 
ant Episcopal Church, 89; title-page of, 90; copies without 
Apocrypha, 90. 

Congress, petitioned by Robert Aitken for support, 61; appoints 
Committee to report thereon, 61; report of Committee, 62; re- 
port of Chaplains of, 62; resolution of, upon Aitken's Bible, 63; 
called " Bible-Congress," 67. 

Corporation for Promoting and Propagating the Gospel, etc. ; its 
formation, 3; assists in printing Indian Bible, 4. 

Cotton, Rev. John, assisted Eliot in preparing the second edition 
of the Indian Bible, 18. 

Dedication of Eliot's New Testament, 7 and Appendix A. 

Dedication of Eliot's Bible of 1663, Appendix B. 

Dedication to Hon. Robert Boyle, in copies of Eliot Bible of 1685, 
19, 20, and Appendix C. 

Dickinson, Rodolphus, " New and Corrected Version of the New 
Testament," quoted, 107. 

DouAY Version.— Publishers' appeal, quoted, 70, 71; title-page of 
72; description of, 72, 73. 

Eames, Wilberforce, " Bibliographic Notes on Eliot's Indian 
Bible," etc., quoted, 13. 



INDEX. 169 

Ebeling, Dr. C. D., his copy of Eliot Bible, 43. 

Electrotyped Plates, when first used in printing American 
Bibles, 131. 

Eliot Bible. — Translation of whole Bible, 4, 15; this edition de- 
scribed, 9-16; English title-page, 9; Indian title-page, 10; edi- 
tion of 1685, description of, 19; value of this edition, 21; com- 
parative importance of first and second editions, 21 ; interesting 
associations connected with certain copies of, 22; errors in edi- 
tion of 1663, 13, 14, 20, 110; errors in edition of 1685, 20; owners 
of, 22-26 and Appendix D ; prices of, 21, 22, 25 and Appendix E. 

Eliot, John. — Purpose of, in coming to New England, 1; education, 
2; studies Indian language, 2; desires to translate the Bible, 3, 
4; translation accomplished, 4; publishes the New Testament, 
5; publishes whole Bible, 9; character of, 26; "Apostle to the 
Indians," 26; Life of, by Francis, quoted, 16. 

Eliot New Testament. — Published, 5; described, 6, 7; title-page 
of, in English, 5 ; in Indian, 6; second edition described, 16, 17; 
owners of, 8 and Appendix D. 

Ellis, Dr., on Indian words, quoted, 15. 

Engles, Joseph P., 116, 117. 

Ephrata, Penn., Bibles printed at, 138; not mentioned by O'Calla- 
ghan, 139- 

Errors, Printers', 111. 

Francis, Life of Eliot, quoted, 16. 

Franklin, Benjamin, proposal for a New Version of the Bible, 104, 
105 ; McJIasters, on this proposal, quoted, 105. 

German, Bible in, Saur's, 28; Tungmann's, 53; first folio in, 139; 
New Testament in, 138, 139. 

Greek, New Testament in, first American edition of, 112; other 
editions, 112-118; Blomfield's, 115; Polymicrian, 116, 117. 

Green, Samuel, 3, 19. 

Greenfield, William, 117. 

Hazard, Sam, letter of, referring to Aitken Bible, 58. 

HiEROGLYPHICAL BiBLE, 109. 

HiMES, Joshua V., 106. 

Indian Language. — Cotton Mather, on, 15; Eev. Dr. Ellis, on, 

quoted, 15; Lord's Prayer in, 15. 
Indians, desire of, for Bibles, 18. 
Kneeland, Kev. Abner, 114. 
Lord's Prayer, translated into Indian language, 3 ; Indian Version 

of, 15; Julia E. Smith's version of, 137; Kev. Samuel Mather's 

rendering of, 106. 



170 INDEX. 

Luther, Heinrich E., aasists Saur, 34, 47. 

Mather, Cotton, "Magnalia," quoted, 16; opinion of Indian words, 
15. 

Mather, Kev. Samuel, his rendering of the Lord's Prayer, 106. 

McMasters, quotation from Life of Benjamin Franklin, in American 
Men of Letters Series, 105. 

Merriam & Co.'s editionof the Bible, 140. 

" Millerite " New Testament, 108. 

Murdoch, James, translation of Peshito Syriac New Testament, 
99 ; his career, 101. 

New Testament, American Bible Union's, quoted, 139 ; " Dictated 
by the Spirit," 109; Eliot of 1661, owners of. Appendix D; prices 
of this edition. Appendix E; Eliot of 1680, owners of, Appendix 
D; Eliot of 1661, title-pages, 5, 6; French, 132; Gaine's, 126; 
German, 138, 139; Greek, 112-118 ; modern Greek, 118; Hall & 
Seller's, 124; in Conn., 135; in Delaware, 135; "Millerite," 108; 
Peshito Syriac, 97; Saur, 52; Socinian, 109. 

New York Bible and Common Prayer-Book Society, 128. 

O'Callaghan, Dr. E. B., his " List of Bibles," etc., referred to, 13, 
20, 52, 57, 139, 140. 

Omission in Eliot Bible, 20. 

Penn. Magazine of History and Biography, quoted, 95, 96. 

Peshito Syriac New Testament.— Date of, 97; first editionof, 99; 
first American translation, 99; first English translation, 99; Pre- 
face of first American translation, quoted, 100; title-page of, 100. 

Phinney, H. & E., edition of the Bible, 140. 

Salt, no equivalent for, in Indian language, 14. 

Saur Bible. — Proposal of, quoted, 32, 33; publication of, 34 ; title- 
page of, in German, 35; title-page translated, 35; collation of, 
35; Preface of, 36-39; description of, 39; history of copies sent 
to H. E. Luther, 40-46; Dedication in Luther's copy, 42; letter 
of Dr. T. Schott about presentation copy, 44; Inscription in 
Count Heinrich De Bunan's copy, 45; Luther's list of presenta- 
tion copies, 46; second edition of, described, 50; third edition 
of, 51 ; owners of. Appendix F. 

Sauk New Testament; dates of issue, 52; certain editions of, omit- 
ted by O'Callaghan, 52. 

Septuagint. — First American translation of, 91 ; title-page of this 
translation, 92; value of it, 93, 95. 

Smith, Julia E., her translation quoted, 137. 

Stereotype Plates, American, first Bible from, 127. 



INDEX. 171 



Thomas Bible. — Prospectus, 77; folio edition, title-page, and de- 
scription of, 78 ; New Testament title-page, 79; royal quarto 
edition, title-page and description of, 80, 81; other editions, 83; 
Preface quoted, 82. 

Thomas, B. F., " Memoir of Isaiah Thomas," quoted, 84. 

Thomas, Isaiah. — Career of , 74-76, 83,84; called " the Baskerville, 
of America," 82; his History of Printing in America, quoted 
29, 30, 55, 56. 

Thomson, Chakles. — Anecdote about, 91; career of, 93; his trans- 
lation of the Septuagint, 91-93, 95, 96; "Synopsis of the four 
Evangelists," 96. 

Tkumbull, Dr., his article in " Memorial History of Boston," quoted, 
14 ; discovered omission in Eliot Bible, 20. 

Washington, George, remark of, about Thomas, quoted, 84. 

Watson's, " Annals of Philadelphia," quoted, 91, 92. 

Webster, Noah, proposes an amended Bible, 135; Biography of, by 
Horace E. Scudder, quoted, 136. 

Woodruff, Hezekiah, Version of Gospel according to St. Matthew, 
quoted, 108. 

Young, William, 121. 

YuNGMANN's GERMAN BiBLE, preface Of, 53,54. 



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